Q: My 58 years old father had melaena and he was given banding and glue injection treatment. In the discharge summary it was given as cryptogenic liver cirrhosis, portal hypertension, grade III-IV oesophageal and fundal varices, and in the abdominal ultrasound scan report impression was given as chronic liver parenchymal disease with portal hypertension. What is parenchymal liver disease?

A:The presence of varices indicates portal hypertension. Cirrhosis is a common cause of portal hypertension. The diagnosis is made on a liver biopsy. However, a biopsy is not essential if there is other evidence of liver dysfunction - fluid in the abdomen, mental confusion, jaundice, or the ultrasound shows a small liver. Please ask your doctor whether the portal vein or splenic vein were blocked on the ultrasound study.