doc says TIPS always causes encephalopathy. Really?

I didn't go his last appointment because he was called in for an early one and he didn't let me know. He said he's not going to have the TIPS because his liver specialist said it always causes encephalopathy. I haven't found this in my short search, only that encephalopathy can be caused and is usually short term. He's already got a problem part of the time. Any opinions?

PPM, Nailed it. If you look back through the post I've described pretty much all the pro's and cons. For me I couldn't lose with the surgery. I had severe bouts of H.E and the amount of fluids being extracted every 3 days from my abdomen convinced me to roll the dice. Life was nothing more than endless hospital visits at the time. A quote from my Hepatoligist " TIPS is about quality of life not quantity".
Life is living. I have no regrets about my decision. I was told of the risk and still would do it again. Thats me. You weigh those decisions personally. Me, It worked out very well. Yes, Encephalopathy is still present but not increased. Yes, Any surgery on a patient with a compromised immune system has a potential to go horribly wrong ( Anesthesia, Shunt placement or just plain old "God punched your ticket"). I've seen folks over the years post here in much my same predicament. Wish I could say they all had the same results as me. It ain't so. Fifty, Fifty is my observation. I wish you and yours well. Hope you find the strength to make your decisions as needed.

Ziff