Liver — TransplantLyfe

Liver

TIPS procedure

DeniseBTransplant Patient
May 19, 2022 in Liver

My Dr is talking possible TIPS for me. Anyone had this done? pros/Cons

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  • AliEm14Expert
    Transplant Patient

    I'm not sure if I had the same thing but I think I had something similar? Whatever it was, I hated it and would have rather just been put completely under. I have a terrible time with pain medication, though, and whatever they gave me just gave me heightened anxiety. So I guess my issue was with the drugs and not the actual procedure. For me it didn't work as anticipated and I had to have another surgery a few months later (which worked, and now I'm doing great)

    May 23, 2022

1 - 8 of 8 Other Answers

  • DeniseBTransplant Patient

    Thank You

    May 23, 2022
  • Sdey0522Expert
    Transplant Patient

    Hi @DeniseB - I wasn't aware, so I looked up: Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS)

    Good luck to you & to all others who need the procedure 👍 🍀


    May 23, 2022
  • AILazarusTransplant Patient

    I had two. I was mildly sedated. Both times.

    June 14, 2022
  • michelleTransplant Patient

    The year before my transplant, I had a TIPS procedure. The blood flow constriction through my liver was causing ascites, and I was undergoing paracentesis every 10-14 days where they would drain 4-5 liters of fluid each time. After the TIPS procedure, my quality of life improved tremendously. It was a temporary reprieve from the fluid until I was transplanted.

    July 18, 2022
  • Sdey0522Expert
    Transplant Patient

    thank you for sharing, @AILazarus & @michelle

    July 18, 2022
  • MattTransplant Patient

    Same for me as Michelle above. was much easier than getting drained every 7 to 9 days HOWEVER!!! Note your lower half puffs up with fluid. I am 5'11 with a life of weight training as a hobby. I had legs that would not fit in my weight lifting baggy pants. They looked like legs of a 400lb man. No ankles to speak of. And, to be very blunt with 1 particular result: the puffy moved up to my pubic area leaving me now appearing almost uncircumcised at times.

    Now, it did take 19 months for to me clear infections and get the transplant so I continued puffing up the whole time. Perhaps an extreme example but if so, now you know the worst case.


    For me, if it was a matter of few months, I would continue the draining so the fluid is out of you and not pooling in your lower half. I'm saying that is what I would do knowing what I know now.

    May 3, 2025
  • MattTransplant Patient

    Regarding pubic puffing up - think very loose skin after the puffy goes away

    May 3, 2025
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