"Shunt Happens": Contemporary Approaches to Congenital Portosystemic Shunts

Join an expert panel who provide a comprehensive overview of congenital portosystemic shunts in children, emphasizing the underlying vascular anatomy, embryologic development, and spectrum of anatomic variants. Presenters review the natural history of these lesions and their associated clinical sequelae, including hepatic dysfunction, pulmonary vascular complications, neurocognitive effects, and implications for growth and development. Through discussion of real-life clinical cases, speakers illustrate diagnostic evaluation, risk stratification, and timing of intervention, highlighting how patient-specific factors influence management decisions. A multidisciplinary approach is emphasized with input from hepatology, interventional radiology, surgery, cardiology, and transplant teams. Potential interventions are explored in detail, including indications, technical considerations, and outcomes of endovascular and surgical strategies, as well as scenarios in which liver transplantation may be required. Long-term surveillance and follow-up after intervention are also addressed.