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Liver transplant - Let's support each other
Transplants | Last Active: Aug 8, 2025 | Replies (1688)Comment receiving replies
@lcd, Welcome to Connect and thank you for sharing your experience with the TIPs procedure. I had ascites and one incident of bleeding varices before my transplant. My transplant was 12 years ago, and I think I remember taking a diuretic and blood pressure meds to help control what I was dealing with. I was also on dialysis for sudden kidney failure while my cirrhosis got worse.
Do you need to take any meds for the portal pressure, or does the TIPs work by itself? How are you monitored for infections related the TIPs?
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Tips are monitored by a yearly MRI which measures blood flow velocity and is compared to previous tests. Any changes would require Tips adjustments. There is no real way to “monitor” any infections. I have had 4 infections from bile issues within the liver, but through scans with dye and actually procedures to view internally the Tips area, it was determined this was not the source of infections. I do not take any meds for this issue, but naturally need to keep blood pressure intact - the varaces in esophagus are the weakest link when there is portal tension/pressure.