Portal biliopathy in a Nigerian: A pictorial case report of a rare finding

Abstract

Portal biliopathy (PB) was well delineated as a distinct clinical entity in the 1990s. Since then, science has much improved in diagnosing and managing this condition. Currently, magnetic resonance imaging and cholangiopancreatography have largely replaced endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography as the most important tool in PB diagnosis. Our resource-limited environment has not allowed for optimal availability and uptake of this tool in general but when it is deployed, as in this index case, it can yield great and accurate dividend. This report is the first such scientific documentation of PB in a Nigerian adult. It seeks to show the striking radiological image appearances upon which diagnosis is based. We hope that the article will help increase the index of suspicion for such a rare diagnosis in our locality and that it will encourage the more widespread deployment of such essential and beneficial radiological tools in disease diagnosis.