All you need to know about liver transplant

Liver transplant is the second most common type of transplant surgery performed, with the first one being kidney transplants. With the advancements in medical technologies, the transplant procedures have become simpler and less risky.

What is liver transplantation?

Liver transplantation involves surgical removal of the severely diseased liver that has no hope of regeneration and replacing it with a healthy donor liver or a portion of it.

Liver transplant surgery is recommended for people with severe liver conditions since it can save the life of the patient or improve the quality of life. Though liver transplants come with significant risks and complications, it has a very high success rate.

Types of liver transplants

There are two types of liver transplants depending on the type of donor.

      Deceased Donor Liver Transplant (DDLT)

•      This involves obtaining a healthy liver from a brain-dead person. This person might have donated his/her organs previous to his/her death, or consent would be received from the family members for organ donation later.

      Live Donor Liver Transplant (LDLT)

• Liver is a regenerative organ which means that it can replace the lost tissues by growing the remaining ones. Thus a part of a healthy liver from a living patient can be used as transplant and is completely safe for the donor and the recipient. There is no need for lifelong medications, and women can have normal pregnancy and motherhood.

• The live donor is usually a blood relative or spouse of the patient. A detailed evaluation of the prospective donor is done to ensure minimize the health risks involved and help in complete recovery.

What does liver transplant involve?

      First stage

      A team of specialists will first evaluate the patient with a review of medical history and other investigations to determine whether liver transplant is the best option or if there is a different option.

      Second stage

      If the patient is found to be suitable for liver transplant, we proceed to the second stage. In this stage, the patient’s name is placed on the waiting list, and the priority is determined on the scoring system based on the medical criteria and severity of the condition.

     Third stage

     This is when the donor becomes available, and the patient is contacted and informed about the donor’s medical condition. If the patient consents for the transplant, some basic tests are repeated to ensure the safety of his/her condition. After this, surgeons and anesthetists involved in the transplant will meet the patient and brief him/her about the procedure. If the test results are satisfactory, we then proceed to surgery.

Also Read: Liver Diseases – Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Liver transplant procedure

Usually, the liver transplant procedure takes about 8 to 12 hours to complete, after which the patient is shifted to ICU. The patient might want to stay there for 3 to 7 days, but these aspects of the surgery might differ according to his/her condition.

After the patient is moved to ICU, many tubes are connected to his/her body to carry out the natural functions which are removed when deemed appropriate. After this, the patient is shifted to the room for 2-3 weeks, and thus in total, the patient might want to stay for 3-4 weeks in the hospital for the entirety of the procedure.

Liver transplant – discharge and recovery

Once the patient is regarded as stable by the doctors, he/she can be discharged from the hospital. But a follow-up schedule is recommended for the patient to ensure complete recovery. The patients and the family members are educated about the medications and necessary precautions before discharge. The dose of medications will reduce with time, and the pace of recovery depends on several factors. Usually, a patient is expected to resume daily activities within a month and go back to work after 3 months after the liver transplant surgery.

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