title: Use of the Viatorr expanded polytetrafluoroethylene-covered stent-graft for transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt creation in children: initial clinical experience.
abstract: Four children, three boys and one girl, with a median age of 9 years 8 months, underwent transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt creation with an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (e-PTFE)-covered nitinol stent. The stent-graft was successfully placed in all four patients without any complication. Clinical and biochemical improvement was noted in all four patients during follow-up. Radiological follow-up with use of duplex ultrasound showed a recurrent stenosis of the shunt 180 days after stent-graft implantation in one patient. This was treated with placement of an additional stent-graft, re-expanding completely the recurrent stenosis. In the other three patients, the stent-graft remained fully patent until the end of the study or until orthotopic liver transplantation. These preliminary results suggest that use of the Viatorr ePTFE-covered stent-graft in children is safe and feasible, with potentially the same high patency rate and improved clinical outcome as reported in adult patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University Hospitals Leuven, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Koen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mermuys
authors.forename: Geert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Maleux
authors.forename: Sam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Heye
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lombaerts
authors.forename: Frederik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nevens
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000497:Alloys; D000792:Angiography; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene; D019168:Portasystemic Shunt, Transjugular Intrahepatic / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012008:Recurrence; D015607:Stents
chemical_list: D000497:Alloys; C013616:nitinol; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene