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Volume 42 Issue 2
Feb.  2026
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Article Navigation >  Journal of Clinical Hepatology  > 2026  >  42(2): 452-456

Application of balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration in treatment of liver cirrhosis complications

DOI: 10.12449/JCH260228
  • 1.

    Department of Gastroenterology，Shandong Provincial Hospital，Medical Integration and Practice Center of Shandong University，Jinan 250012，China

  • 2.

    Department of Gastroenterology，Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University，Jinan 250021，China

Research funding:

National Natural Science Foundation of China (81970533)

More Information
  • Corresponding author: ZHANG Chunqing， zhangchunqing_sdu@163.com （ORCID： 0000-0001-8711-1579）
  • Received Date: 2025-05-20
  • Accepted Date: 2025-08-27
  • Published Date: 2026-02-25
    Abstract
  • Gastric variceal rupture and bleeding and hepatic encephalopathy are common and life-threatening complications in decompensated cirrhosis. As a minimally invasive interventional technique， balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration （BRTO） has made significant progress in the clinical management of gastric varices and hepatic encephalopathy in recent years. This article systematically reviews the technical principles， indications （e.g.， isolated gastric varices and refractory hepatic encephalopathy）， clinical efficacy （an acute hemostasis rate of 85% — 95%， a 1-year rebleeding rate of <15%， and an improvement rate of 60% — 80% for hepatic encephalopathy）， and safety （including complications such as renal impairment and elevated portal vein pressure） of BRTO. Meanwhile， this article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of BRTO and conventional treatment modalities （e.g.， transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt and endoscopic treatment） and reviews the latest technological improvements in recent years， such as coil-assisted retrograde transvenous obliteration and plug-assisted retrograde transvenous obliteration. Future research should focus on the precision of patient selection （e.g.， stratification based on hemodynamic parameters）， the optimization of embolic materials （e.g.， application of new biodegradable embolic agents）， and the development of individualized treatment regimens， so as to improve efficacy and reduce the risk of complications.

     

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