How is Budd-Chiari syndrome treated?
How is Budd-Chiari syndrome treated?
Treatments for Budd-Chiari syndrome are designed to dissolve blood clots and to help improve blood flow in the liver. Treatments are usually drug therapy, non-surgical procedures, and surgery:
- Drug therapy: Your doctor will prescribe drugs to dissolve the blood clots. In addition, the blood-thinning drug warfarin (Coumadin®) is often prescribed to prevent future clots.
- Procedures: There are two non-surgical procedures used in treating Budd-Chiari syndrome: transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty:
- The transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is a radiologic procedure in which a stent (a tubular device) is placed in the middle of the liver to reroute the blood flow. During the procedure, a radiologist makes a tunnel through the liver with a needle, connecting the portal vein (the vein that carries blood from the digestive organs to the liver) to one of the hepatic veins (the three veins that carry blood from the liver). A metal stent (a small, hollow tube) is placed in this tunnel to keep the track open. The TIPS procedure reroutes blood flow in the liver and reduces pressure in all abnormal veins, including the bowel and the liver.
- In the percutaneous transluminal angioplasty procedure, the doctor inserts a catheter (a thin, hollow tube with a balloon at the tip) through the skin and into a blood vessel. The catheter is guided to the area where the clot is located. When the catheter reaches the clot, the balloon is inflated to widen the vein. A stent may be placed at the site to keep the vein open.
- Surgery: If you have liver failure (the liver no longer functions adequately), a liver transplant is the usual treatment.