What is a Liver Shunt (TIPS)?
TIPS Procedure: Effect on Kidneys, History and More Robert Fontana, MD (internal medicine), University of Michigan What is the effect of low blood pressure in a patient with Hep C who is waiting for a liver transplant? 1. TIPS is an acronym for Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt. This is a procedure performed by angiographers (vascular radiologists) at many major medical centers throughout the country for patients with various complications from their advanced liver disease. Initial work with the placement of TIPS devices in humans was first reported in 1982 by Colapinto but the more modern use of expandable metal mesh stents with significantly improved results was not reported till 1990 by Richter. Since 1990 refinements in technique and a growing experience with the method have made TIPS widely available in many major medical centers, particularly in liver transplant centers. Patients with cirrhosis develop high pressures in the main blood vessel that supplies the liver ca
