Everything You Need to Know About Liver Transplant

Posted by Akash Sharma
4
Oct 3, 2019
270 Views
One cannot live without a functional liver as it is one of the most vital organs of our body. By detoxifying our blood of materials like ammonia and bilirubin, the liver performs some of the major metabolism functions of removing drugs and toxins. Besides, it is also responsible for the synthesis of many essential proteins and enzymes that help in clotting of blood in case of bleeding. Blood brings in nutrients and oxygen to the liver cells through the pathways of the hepatic artery and the portal vein. This blood drains into the heart through the inferior vena cava. Bile, the enzyme that helps our body dissolve fat and remove metabolic wastes and toxins, is manufactured by the liver. Replacing the liver of a patient, whether partially or totally, with the liver from a healthy person is called a liver transplant and it is done through a liver transplant surgery.At this point in time in medical science, transplantation is the only cure for the insufficiency or failure of the river because there is no device or 
machine that can perform its functions as effectively and efficiently.

Normally people with any of the following conditions require a liver transplant:

Acute Liver Failure
Chronic Liver Failure
And following are the signs and symptoms of liver transplant:
Gastrointestinal Bleeding
Fluid Retention
Encephalopathy
Jaundice
The causes of chronic liver failure however can be as follows;
Viral Hepatitis
Alcoholic Liver Disease
Metabolic Liver Disease
Autoimmune Liver Disease

•Where the patient’s own immune system damages the liver to the extent of destroying it.
•Cholestatic liver diseases
•Where the small bile ducts of the liver are destroyed (PBC – Primary Bile Cirrhosis).
•Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) (destruction of bile ducts inside and outside the liver). 
•Neonatal sclerosing cholangitis (infection and scarring of the bile ducts in the liver of an infant)
•Where the bile ducts outside the liver are absent. (Biliary atresia)
•Where there is abnormality in the bile ducts outside the liver. (Caroli’s Disease)
•TPN-induced cholestasis.

The procedure of liver surgery follows the following events:

1.Incision
2.The abdomen is evaluated for any abnormalities that may adversely affect the transplantation.
3.The native liver is dissected from the abdominal cavity and mobilised.
4.Important structures above below and behind the liver like the inferior vena cava, bile duct, hepatic artery and the portal vein are isolated from the liver.
5.Finally, the diseased liver is removed from the patient’s body.
6.Sewing in the new liver: The first step is to re-establish the venous blood flow into the new liver. This is done by connecting the inferior vena cava and the portal veins of the patient and the donor. Then the arterial blood flow is reinstated by connecting the hepatic arteries of the donor and patient. Lastly, the bile ducts of the donor and the patient are connected.
7.Ensuring adequate control of bleeding
8.Closure of the incision.

If you are looking for a good liver surgeon in India with the needed expertise and efficiency, you must consider the reputed hospitals, the likes of Care Hospitals only. 

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