Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt Creation With Embolization or Obliteration for Variceal Bleeding

Variceal hemorrhage is a life-threatening sequela of liver cirrhosis that requires a careful and comprehensive approach to management. Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt creation with or without variceal embolization or obliteration represents a minimally invasive image-guided intervention used for the management of varices. This review focuses on the role of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt and embolization or obliteration in the setting of variceal hemorrhage, with an emphasis on the useful aspects of patient evaluation and selection, practical approaches to procedure planning and valuable elements of interventional technique, and clinical outcomes as they pertain to portal venous decompression and variceal embolotherapy.