ABSTRACT
In patients with liver cirrhosis,variceal bleeding is a common fatal complication of portal hypertension.Varices are present in al-most half of patients with cirrhosis at the time of diagnosis.Since transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS)was first applied clini-cally in 1988,the relevant information about TIPS has been continually updated and perfected by lots of clinical trials.The role of TIPS in the prevention and treatment of variceal bleeding in cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension,including primary prevention of variceal bleeding,treatment of acute variceal bleeding,and prevention of rebleeding,is reviewed.TIPS is an effective treatment for variceal bleeding in cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension.Along with the technical development,TIPS will be available for more and more patients and will play an increasingly important role in the prevention and treatment of variceal bleeding among cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension.