Using a stent to treat patients with portal hypertension

This article is based on work undertaken in the radiology department at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, the first centre in the UK to practise transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic stent shunt (TIPSS) insertion. This is an effective treatment for patients with the signs and symptoms of portal hypertension. The author describes the indications for the procedure and details the nursing care of the patient before, during and after the intervention.