Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt.

The prevention and therapy of upper digestive hemorrhage due to rupture of esophageal varices in patients with liver cirrhosis are not yet effective enough. For their improvement, a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is achieved by a new method which, without requiring general anesthesia, creates a shunt between a portal vein branch and the inferior vena cava. The indications, contraindications, outcome and eventual accidents of TIPS are analysed in the light of the latest data in the medical literature.