What is a liver transplant?
A liver transplant is a procedure performed to replace a diseased liver with a healthy liver from another person. During the liver transplantation surgery, the surgeon removes the diseased liver and replaces it with a healthy one. The surgery generally takes 4 - 12 hours to perform, and patients stay in the hospital for up to 3 weeks after the surgery. Most patients return to normal or near-normal activities 6 - 12 months following the transplant. For the rest of their lives, patients need to take immunosuppressive medication to prevent rejection.
Kinds of Liver Transplantations
There are two kinds of Liver Transplant namely,
1. the cadaveric liver transplantation
2. the living donor …show more content…
This is called deceased donor liver transplantation or cadaveric liver transplantation. Sometimes there is a living donor – living donor liver transplantation. This is when a healthy person donates part of his/her liver for a …show more content…
While the disease can often be treated easily, sometimes a second transplant is required.
Medical complications: Patients who have undergone organ transplant can get diabetes, high blood pressure & cholesterol, infections, thinning of the bones and can become obese.
Cancer: Organ transplant patients are at higher risk for certain cancers, mostly skin cancer. These cancers spread faster in transplant patients than they do in normal people. Therefore, these patients require cancer screening regularly.
Is regular follow-up is required after liver transplantation?
Yes! Lifelong medical and transplant follow-up is necessary to ensure normal liver function and also to assess for any transplant-related problems that may arise. The patient has to be regularly in contact with his/her transplant centre. Transplant coordinators/ nurse will contact the patient periodically and advise him/her about blood tests and follow-up