Liver Transplant Surgery
Liver Anatomy:-
A liver is the largest organ of our body. It is found at the right side of the abdomen, intestines, kidney, above the stomach and beneath the diaphragm. It is found in dark reddish brown color and appears like a cone. Its weight is around three pounds.
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| Liver Cancer |
At any given point of time, about 13% or around one pint of blood supply in the body is held by the liver. Two lobes, made of thousands of lobules, exist in the liver. They are connected to larger ducts, through smaller ducts to finally form the big hepatic duct, which is helpful for the transportation of the bile towards the gallbladder.
Liver conducts many significant functions in the body, like:
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Regulation of the blood clot
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Clears the blood from poisonous substances like drug
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Regulation of blood clot
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Converting of the food to energy
What is Liver Transplant Surgery?
A liver transplant is a surgery to replace a damaged liver of a patient with a healthy liver from another person who is healthy. The new liver can either be from a living donor or from a dead person. But the main criterion for the transplant is that the liver must be matching to the liver of the person receiving it; that is the patient. This kind of transplant is called the liver transplantation. A liver can be transplanted as a whole of the entire organ or just a section or part of it.
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| Liver Transplant Surgeons |
The donor, who donates the liver, can continue with the rest of his/her life healthy without any side effect cause of the donation of part of the liver. This is because the section of the liver that is donated can be regenerated or grown within a few weeks in the body of the donor. As the liver is the only organ in humans that can be regenerated by itself in the body.
Need for Liver Transplantation Procedure
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| Liver Cancer Hospital in India |
The patients, who are suffering from ESLD or End-Stage Liver Disease, a liver sickness or dysfunction, which is a very serious life-threatening disease, require this procedure of liver transplantation. Cirrhosis is one of the examples of such a severe liver disease. This long-lived disease is caused because of the liver being covered by a fiber-like tissue that prevents poisonous substances to be vomited out from the liver. There are many other such diseases, for which this liver transplantation procedure is required, but not limited them. Below are a few of them:
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Liver Cancers – Primary tumors in the liver, and not yet spread to the external parts of the liver.
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Metabolic Disease – This is a condition, caused from the chemical activity, caused by the liver in the cells.
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Biliary Atresia – This condition occurs from either absence of the bile ducts or abnormal development of the same.
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Autoimmune Hepatitis – Damage and destruction of the liver because of the chronic inflammation caused by the liver.
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Acute Hepatic Necrosis – This condition is caused because the tissue in the liver dies.
Risks Associated With the Liver Transplantation
Some of the complications caused during this procedure are:
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Block of bile duct
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Bile Leakage
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Blood vessels blocked in the newly transplanted liver
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Infection
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No function of the new liver
The immune system of the body refuses the foreign tissues or substances, naturally and so the new liver too. So, the immune system is deluded to not to attack the newly transplanted liver.
Contradictions for this procedure, which are not just limited to, are:
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Serious liver disease persisting, even after the transplantation
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Difficult treatment of current or recurring infection
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Other medical conditions, like sever cardiac problem, which could not tolerate the hard surgical procedure
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Treatment regimen non compliance
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Metastatic cancer, spread around the source location
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Alcohol consumption
Before the Liver Transplantation Procedure
To get the liver transplantation done from a deceased donor, the patient is kept in the waiting list in UNOS or United Network for Organ Sharing and then extensive and varied testing are conducted before the surgery.
A team consisting of transplant surgeon, hepatologist, nurses, psychologist and social worker with optional dietitian, anesthesiologist conduct the evaluation process to decide the eligibility for the transplant procedure.
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| Before- After Liver Transplant |
Factors necessary for the evaluation of the transplant process to list the patient in UNOS, have the following, however not limited to,
Urgency – based on the critical condition of the patient
Blood Tests – to assess matching potential of the donor liver with the liver of the patient
Diagnostic Tests – to assess the liver and overall status of health of the patient.
Psychological and social evaluation – it includes assessing the stress, family support, financial condition, etc., which influence the final outcome of the transplantation.
Liver Transplantation Procedure
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After removing your cloths you have to wear a gown
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You need to lie on the table.
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Excessive hair is removed at the site of surgery
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It starts with IV or intravenous line on the hand. Heart and blood pressure monitoring catheter are inserted to the wrist and neck. Additional catheters may be inserted at subclavian areas.
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After sedation, a tube is inserted into the lungs to control breathing through a ventilator.
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A catheter is arranged to drain urine
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A slant incision is done under the ribs.
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The diseased liver is separated from the structure and surrounding organs to remove and the veins and arteries are clamped to control the flow of blood to the liver
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Donor liver is taken and connected to the blood vessels of the patient, and the blood flow is established.
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Bile ducts are connected
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Incision is closed
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To control swelling drain may be needed to place in the site of incision
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Dressing is done
The
Best Liver Transplant Surgeon in India has highest success rates. Best liver transplant hospitals in India along with the best liver transplant surgeons in India have experience of performing hundreds of successful liver transplantation surgeries.
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| Liver Transplant Procedure |
