Treating Liver Failure (TIPS)
There are many causes of liver failure and end stage liver disease including alcohol-related liver disease, hepatitis, metastatic tumors and environmental exposures to toxins. Over time, the liver can become hard and develop cirrhosis. Cirrhosis can cause blood pressure to build-up in the abdomen leading to bleeding or fluid accumulation.
If medical therapy fails to succeed in treating these problems, a procedure called Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt (TIPS) can be performed. The traditional surgical bypass has a 10-60 percent mortality. Procedure-related mortality due to TIPS is rare.
This non-surgical treatment involves creating a bypass in the liver using balloon angioplasty and stent technology. X-ray guidance is used to find the correct vessels, and to form a short pathway between them inside the liver.
This pathway is kept open using a stent.