Balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration as a procedure to improve liver function in patients with decompensated cirrhosis: Shunt occlusion to improve liver function

Aim Portosystemic shunts aggravate liver function by decreasing portal blood flow. The usefulness of balloon‐occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (B‐RTO), a standardized therapeutic procedure for gastric fundal varices (GFV), for the improvement of liver function was evaluated in cirrhotic patients with or without varices.