Short- and Long-Term Evolution of the Endoluminal Diameter of Underdilated Stents in Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short-and long-term evolution of endoluminal diameter of covered metallic stents that were underdilated at the time of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) creation.Materiel and methods: Sixteen patients (13 men, 3 women) with a mean age of 57.6 years +/- 7.9 (SD) were retrospectively included. All patients had had TIPS creation using a 10-mm diameter covered stent (VIATORR (R)) that was underdilated (i.e., 8 mm) at the time of stent placement. Measurements of the mean circulating diameter of the stents were retrospectively performed on angiographic examinations every 6 months up to 2 years.Results: The endoluminal stent diameter early enlarged from 8.96 mm +/- 1.12 (SD) to 10 mm +/- 1.45 (SD) after 6 months (P = 0.04) with no further significant changes over time after 12 months (10.28 mm +/- 1.9 mm), 18 months (9.93 +/- 1.51 mm) and 24 months (9.92 +/- 0.9 mm).Conclusion: Our results demonstrate a passive expansion of initially underdilated covered stents during the six months following TIPS creation. This should be taken into account regarding hepatic encephalopathy prevention during TIPS placement. (C) 2016 Editions francaises de radiologie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.