Experimental in-vitro and in-vivo testing of a retrohepatic vena cava shunt has shown effective shunting of inferior vena caval blood by catheters with outside diameters of 28 French. A technique of insertion of such a catheter via the groin is shown to be feasible in humans. Control of vena caval bleeding by a balloon catheter prototype during liver resection in dogs and in a human patient has been demonstrated.