Covered stents for TIPS: are all problems solved?

Abstract

Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) has been used to treat complications of portal hypertension for more than 15 years. The two main drawbacks of TIPS are shunt dysfunction and encephalopathy. Accumulating data and the recent report published by Tripathi et al. show that the use of covered stents improves TIPS patency, by preventing pseudo-intimal hyperplasia, and clinical outcome of patients. Hence, controlled studies are needed to re-assess the role of TIPS using covered stents in the management of portal hypertension.