For patients with cirrhosis and other forms of advanced liver disease, uncontrolled bleeding from ruptured veins (varices) can be fatal. To prevent this uncontrolled bleeding, liver doctors are using transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts (TIPS). TIPS -- an interventional radiology procedure -- is a less invasive alternative to open surgical shunting, which can be very risky, especially when done in an emergency situation.
Varices are veins that become swollen and enlarged when normal blood flow through the liver is blocked. Over time, the pressure builds in these blocked veins and they eventually rupture and bleed uncontrollably.

In a TIPS procedure, interventional radiologists thread a thin catheter through a small incision near the neck and guide it to the blocked vessels in the liver. There, the doctors divert the blood from a high pressure vein to another vein. They use a small metal cylinder called a stent to keep the shunt between the two veins open. This reduces the risk of rupture.

TIPS is an effective treatment option for patients who bleed from portal hypertension and who are unsuitable for or unresponsive to other therapies. Einstein hepatologists also routinely use TIPS to treat severe ascites (fluid buildup in the abdomen as a result of liver cirrhosis), and even renal failure associated with liver failure.