TIPS
Posted , 2 users are following.
this procedure is in my immediate future. I'm curious what experiences others may have had with it...
Many thanks and peace,
0 likes, 3 replies
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Notes on TIPS
buddy122333 misterlion
Posted
I too am in the US and was close to having this procedure done recently. I have poor blood flow through my liver caused by blood clots (Budd Chiari).
I don't know much about TIPS except that it would have redirected some of the blood flow and bypass the liver so that I would not have as much backing up into my spleen (portal hypertension). I understand that there can be a tendancy for the TIPS to clot over time and that they can go back in and easily fix that. I'm sure this isn't what you want either but of all the procedures this doesn't sound too bad.
I'm sure you'll breeze through it and feel much better afterwards. (Please share your experience with it since I may still have to have it done "down the road."
misterlion buddy122333
Posted
Had it done a week ago tomorrow. Had a paracentesis at the same time. Was in the OR for 3.5 hours, one night in the hospital then home. The anesthetic and pain pills hung around for a few days. The doctors were very pleased with the stent, placement, resulting blood pressures, etc.
Ive had a monthly paracentesis for 10 months now, and by day 7-10 the ascites has already pretty much completely returned. Not this time :-). In fact I've lost another liter or two of fluid since the procedure. So far so good. Can't really say I feel any better, TIPS just relieves the portal hypertension, doesn't do anything for the underlying disease. (Child's-Pugh class B cirrhosis for me.). But I'm cautiously optimistic that my ascites may finally be controllable. With that, the spector of SBP (two rounds for me so far) may be a thing of the past, too.
Hepatic encephalopathy which occurs in about 1/3 of TIPS cases may be making its presence know , too soon to tell, but my insomnia "feels" different now. In any case it's mild and treatable.
I can post an update one month afterwards if anyone is interested.
buddy122333 misterlion
Posted
I'm glad to hear your TIPS procedure went so well! Thanks for coming back to the forum for an update. I had never heard of hepatic encephalopathy as one of the side effects of this procedure...and that 1/3 of patients experience it. Of course I Googled it and was shocked at all of the research on this.
I hope you continue doing so well. It's wonderful that your ascities has improved so much. I'm sure that is a huge relief! Take care!