Everyone will pray to have a happy and healthy life. The liver will produce nearly all proteins, many lipids, and several hormones that keep you alive and well. It is the body’s only forms crucial part that can regenerate. A liver transplant surgery or other surgical procedure may be the best option for someone who has severe liver disease. Yale Medicine is known for pioneering liver transplant surgery, including complicated procedures like living donor transplantation.

What is Liver Transplant?

It is important to have a healthy liver for your lifespan because your liver filters blood and removes toxins from your body. When your liver stops working, a particular treatment that will help save your life is called a liver transplant, also known as a hepatic transplant. The procedure entails the removal of your whole liver. The liver is then replaced, either entirely or partially, with a healthy donor liver. This could be a living or deceased donor.

What Conditions Require Liver Transplant Surgery?

If you or a loved one suffers from end-stage liver disease and given normal medical and surgical therapy has failed, a liver transplant in India may be a lifesaving choice. The physicians will provide comprehensive treatment strategies and effective follow-up care to ensure each patient has the best potential outcome.

A liver transplant may be required for the following conditions:

• Acute liver failure is defined as a rapid decline of liver function caused by viruses or other infections, drug overdose or other poisons, cancer, or autoimmune disease.
• Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency (A1AT deficit): A hereditary condition characterized by abnormally high levels of A1AT protein in liver cells.
• Cholangiocarcinoma: Bile duct cancer is rare cancer addressed only at a few transplant hospitals.
• Cirrhosis: A chronic liver degenerative disease caused by drinking or hepatitis B or C.
• Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC): A disorder in which the liver’s bile ducts degenerate over time.

Liver Transplant Procedure

The surgery is known as an Orthotropic Liver Transplant in medical terms. A donor’s liver is implanted in the same area as your own. In this surgery, the affected liver is removed and replaced by using a donated liver. The time of the operation is determined by the procedure’s intricacy. Completing the procedure takes up to 8 hours. It has two stages:

Stage 1: After you have been sedated with an anesthetic, the surgery will begin. Donors’ livers will be used to replace your diseased. Depending on the surgeon’s preference, the incision (cut) will be made in the upper half of your abdomen, either with a hockey stick or an upside-down Y. There are two methods for removing your liver. This is determined by the safest solution for you as well as the surgeon’s personal preference.

Stage 2: The blood vessels that supply the new liver will be connected to your existing blood vessels. The transplanted liver’s gallbladder will be removed, and the bile duct will be attached to your bile duct. In most cases, the donor bile duct and your bile duct are directly connected.

A split liver may be possible for an adult patient. The right half of the liver and half of the left side of the liver are transplanted in an expanded right lobe liver transplant. The smaller left portion of the liver is utilized for a kid patient.

This is a more complicated procedure, and the transplant center will discuss it with you during your assessment and when it is provided. Most procedures will require one or two drains to be placed in your stomach at the end of the procedure to drain any fluid or blood that has accumulated around the transplanted liver. The wound on your skin is then closed.

Care after Liver Transplant Surgery

Processing a liver transplant can give you a second chance at living a healthy life. After you leave the hospital, how you care for yourself directly impacts the success of your transplant.

Attending all follow-up appointments, taking your medications as prescribed, abstaining from alcohol, and engaging in other healthy practices will help you obtain the greatest results possible.

You will frequently need to return to a specialist for outpatient diagnostics and Liver Transplant Clinic visits within the first month after your surgery. You’ll meet with representatives of your transplant team at each follow-up appointment and be tested to evaluate how well you are recovering, monitor any medication side effects, and search for symptoms of rejection.

What are the Complications of Liver Transplant?

Surgery for a liver transplant has a significant risk of major complications. Both the technique and the medications used to prevent the donor liver from being rejected after the transplant have flaws. Some complications are:

• Bile duct problems, such as leaking or shrinking bile ducts
• Bleeding
• Blood clots
• Failure of a donated liver
• Infection
• Donated liver rejection
• Mental confusion or convulsions

Recurrence of liver disease after a liver transplant could be problematic in the long run.

Cost of Liver Transplant

Before a patient chooses a major surgery, it’s critical to consider the expense. When a patient has end-stage liver disease, an organ transplant may be the only method to preserve the patient life. Patients should check their insurance policies to see if the liver transplant is covered.

A liver transplant in India might cost as affordable for all kinds of people but the cost of an organ transplant is determined by a number of factors.

• Charges for organ recovery and transportation
• Hospital Technology and Infrastructure
• The utilization of modern technology and the expertise of qualified surgeons and their teams
• The length of your stay in the hospital and the room category you chose
• Medication for Post-Transplantation
• Certain health issues
• Rehabilitation and Recovery

Bottom Line

Finally, it is important to consult a doctor when you or your loved one suffers from liver disease. If it is in the serious stage, you have to do liver transplant surgery. After liver transplant surgery, you have to carefully take care of your health because you have replaced the most important organ in your body.