Stents coated in polytetrafluoroethylene, the same substance used in non-stick cooking utensils, improves their ability
to keep blood vessels open in TIPS procedures, decreasing occurrences of relapse and avoiding intervention, say a group of
researchers led by Vina C. Williams, MD, from Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands.
TIPS (transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt) is a procedure in which a metal tube (stent) is placed between the
portal and hepatic veins of the liver to redirect blood flow around scar tissue and other obstructions in patients with
cirrhosis and other illnesses. This procedure helps avoid portal hypertension, the increase in blood pressure caused by these
obstructions. Over time, the shunt degrades, but, according to the researchers, these new specially coated stents could help
combat that.
For the study, the researchers analyzed the findings of 93 patients who had undergone a successful TIPS procedure using
either coated or non-coated stents. The researchers found that the coated stents were better able to keep the blood vessels
open 30 days, three months and one year after the TIPS procedure. At 30 days, the non-coated stents had degraded to the point
that 81% of the TIPS were open; 79% at three months and 54% at one year. Coated stents, however, were 90% at 30 days and
three months and 87% at one year. In addition, the survival rates for severely ill patients were better for those treated
using coated TIPS stents.
"Our results show that centers should use these coated stents in TIPS procedures to keep these shunts open with less
interventions," said Erik Bos, a medical student who was one of the researchers on the study.
Bos will present the full results of the study on May 17 during the American Roentgen Ray Society Annual Meeting in New
Orleans, LA.
The American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) was founded in 1900 and is the oldest radiology society in the U.S. Radiologists
from all over the world attend the ARRS Annual Meeting to take part in instructional courses, scientific paper presentations,
symposiums, new issues forums and scientific and commercial exhibits related to the field of radiology. The ARRS is named
after Wilhelm R�entgen, who discovered the x-ray in 1895.
Contact: Jason Ocker
jasonarrs
703-858-4304
American Roentgen Ray Society
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