Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts (TIPS)
TIPS can help you live a longer, better life with liver cirrhosis. This treatment at Montage Health relieves symptoms of portal hypertension — high blood pressure in your liver’s portal vein. Portal hypertension happens in many people with liver cirrhosis, and it often causes:
Why do I need TIPS for liver cirrhosis?
High blood pressure in your liver can be life-threatening. The best portal hypertension treatment is a liver transplant, but not everyone qualifies for it. Even if you’re a candidate, you may have to wait a long time to receive a new liver. TIPS is the next-best option, and it may save your life.
Preparing for TIPS treatment
After receiving your doctor’s referral, we’ll schedule a clinic visit. You’ll have a chance to ask questions and learn the details about TIPS.
Don’t eat or drink anything the evening before the TIPS procedure.
Day of treatment
- Change into a hospital gown
- Take lab tests
- Receive an intravenous (IV) line for fluids and medications
- Meet your interventional radiologist to discuss the procedure
- Go to the procedure suite, where your care team will attach sensors to monitor your vital signs
- Receive general anesthesia to make you sleep and prevent pain
How the TIPS shunt procedure works
You’ll receive treatment from an interventional radiologist — a doctor who uses imaging guidance to perform minimally invasive procedures. The doctor will:
- Place a soft tube called a catheter in your neck’s jugular vein
- Guide the catheter to your liver under X-ray guidance
- Use a needle to create a new link between the portal vein and hepatic vein
- Place a liver stent (tiny tube) to divert blood flow from the portal vein to the heart
- Remove the catheter and needle
- Cover your incision with a dressing
Your care team will monitor you for several hours as you recover from anesthesia. Expect to go home after a short hospital stay.
How tumor ablation works
You’ll receive ablation from an interventional radiologist — a doctor who uses imaging guidance to perform minimally invasive procedures. The doctor will:
- Place a small needle into your tumor under the guidance of ultrasound or computed tomography (CT) images
- Deliver hot or cold energy through the needle to kill the tumor
- Remove the needle and cover your incision with a dressing
Your care team will monitor you for several hours as you recover from sedation or anesthesia. You may go home the same day or after a short hospital stay.
After the TIPS procedure
Take all the medications your doctor prescribes to avoid complications (side effects) of the TIPS procedure. If you feel pain at the incision site in your neck, use over-the-counter pain relievers.
Follow-up care
See us in the interventional radiology clinic between three to nine months later. Your care team may use ultrasound imaging to check for narrowing of the stent. If a blockage develops, your doctor may recommend a minimally invasive procedure to repair it. Keep visiting your gastroenterology or hepatology provider for the best long-term outcome.
