The Effect of Puncture Sites of Portal Vein in TIPS with ePTFE-Covered Stents on Postoperative Long-Term Clinical Efficacy.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of puncture sites of the portal vein in transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) on long-term clinical efficacy.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed, including consecutive 171 patients who underwent TIPS with ePTFE-covered stents. All patients were divided into 3 groups according to the puncture site of the portal vein: intrahepatic bifurcation of the portal vein (group A, n = 88), right branch of the portal vein (group B, n = 48), and left branch of the portal vein (group C, n = 35). The Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to assess the effect of different puncture sites on primary patency, the incidence of hepatic encephalopathy (HE), and survival.

Results: The primary restenosis rate was 29.8% (51/171). The total HE rate was 31.6% (54/171). The cumulative death rate was 19.3% (33/171). The Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that group C versus group A, group C versus group B, and group A versus group B were significantly different on the primary restenosis rate, respectively ( χ 2  = 11.49, P = 0.001; χ 2  = 4.54, P = 0.033; and χ 2  = 4.12, P = 0.046), and group C is better than the other two groups. What is more, group C versus group A and group C versus group B were significantly different on the incidence of HE, respectively ( χ 2  = 8.07, P = 0.004; χ 2  = 9.44, P = 0.002), and group C is better than the other two groups. There was no significant difference on survival.

Conclusion: Choosing the left branch of the portal vein as the puncture site to create the shunt in TIPS with ePTFE-covered stents may decrease the incident of primary restenosis and HE significantly.