A giant portal vein thrombosis as a complication of cryotherapy

Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is frequently observed as a complication of certain malignant or benign conditions. In this article, we report a 42-year-old male patient with no history of previous illness who applied to our emergency department due to severe abdominal pain in all four quadrants. One week prior to the incident, the patient had started whole-body cryotherapy as a remedy for shoulder pain. Routine and detailed etiology-oriented laboratory tests showed no abnormalities. The patient was diagnosed with acute PVT based on abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan findings. The patient was started on intravenous heparin infusion, after which the state of thrombosis was reassessed with follow-up CT scans. When the thrombus receded, oral intake was started. The patient was followed-up for several days and discharged with instructions for the use of low-molecular-weight heparin. Portal vein thrombosis may be an acute complication of whole-body cryotherapy, as discussed in this case.