Best Interventional Radiology Doctors in Dallas: TIPS

TIPS – the Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt – is a specialized medical procedure that uses image-guided, interventional radiology (IR) to reduce portal hypertension, a condition that often affects patients who have severe liver disease. In a healthy person, blood normally flows through the liver from the stomach, esophagus, and intestines, but when the liver has become damaged by disease, pressure increases on the blood vessels feeding the liver, and can cause them to rupture. This can result in a buildup of fluids in the abdomen, intestinal bleeding, and esophageal bleeding.

The TIPS procedure uses a small metal device called a stent to connect the portal vein directly to the hepatic vein in the liver. This keeps the connection open, and allows blood draining from the bowel to be redirected back to the heart, avoiding the liver. TIPS can thus reduce intestinal bleeding in patients with cirrhosis or other severe liver disease, and is one of the most requested specialty procedures performed by some of the best liver cancer doctors in Dallas at MTV IR.

What does the TIPS procedure involve?

If you are a candidate for this procedure, MTV IR specialists at one of the best cancer hospitals in North Texas will use fluoroscopic guidance to insert a tiny needle and sheath into one of your hepatic veins. They will then inflate a tiny angioplasty balloon, which creates a kind of tunnel between that vein and the portal vein. Finally, a stent or thin wire frame is guided into place in this tunnel to maintain a connection between the high-pressure portal vein and the low-pressure hepatic vein.

This procedure itself in most cases requires only an overnight stay in the hospital, and may be performed either under local anesthesia or a general anesthetic. The TIPS procedure takes about 60 to 90 minutes to complete, and is considered much safer than invasive surgery because no large incisions have to be made. Thus it has become the preferred method of treating portal hypertension.

To find out more about this procedure and the other high-end IR treatments that MTV IR doctors specialize in, we recommend that you look over the many informative articles we have included on our website at http://www.mtvir.com. Or simply give some of the best interventional radiology doctors in Dallas a call directly at 469-447-4008. We'll be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Author Bio: Some of the best interventional radiology doctors in Dallas explain what the TIPS procedure is and how it is used in the treatment of liver disease.

For more information: http://www.mtvir.com

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