Portal Vein Thrombosis With Hypoplasia in the Left Lobe of the Liver: A Case Report

TL;DR

A 79-year-old man was diagnosed with portal vein thrombosis linked to an underdeveloped left liver lobe, a previously unreported condition.

Contribution

This is the first reported case of portal vein thrombosis associated with left lobe hypoplasia of the liver.

Findings

Portal vein thrombosis was diagnosed alongside left lobe hypoplasia using contrast-enhanced CT.

Hypoplasia of the liver may be asymptomatic and discovered incidentally.

Aggressive imaging is recommended to detect PVT in similar cases.

Abstract

Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is an acute-onset, emergent thrombotic disease that is difficult to diagnose without an apparent underlying disease unless the clinician actively suspects its presence. We present a case of acute PVT with underlying left lobe hypoplasia of the liver, a previously undescribed condition. A 79-year-old male patient presented to the emergency department with the chief complaint of anorexia. His medical history included hypertension and an old brain infarction. The patient had no history of surgery. Contrast-enhanced CT revealed the disappearance of the left lobe of the liver and defects in the contrast effect in the left portal vein. The diagnosis reached was PVT with left lobe hypoplasia of the liver. Hypoplasia of the liver manifests few symptoms and may be identified incidentally. Clinicians need to be aware that PVT can develop from various underlying conditions, including hypoplasia of the liver, and we recommend aggressive imaging studies to help detect the presence of PVT when encountering similar cases.

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