The operation time varies depending on complexity of the procedure. It is often between 5-8 hours. After you have been put to sleep under anaesthetic, the surgery will begin. Your damaged liver will be removed and the donor liver will be transplanted into its place.
Most patients are hospitalized for seven to 10 days after liver transplant. Afterward, they generally recuperate at home and typically return to work or school after about three months.
In the operating room, the recipient's liver and gallbladder are removed and the new liver is placed into position. Most liver transplants take approximately six hours. Following the operation, the patient goes to surgical intensive care unit for recovery.
The duration of liver transplant surgery depends on how complex your case is. On average, the surgery can take between 6-12 hours.
However, a liver transplant is a major operation that carries a risk of some potentially serious complications. These can occur during, soon after, or several years after the procedure. Some of the main problems associated with liver transplants include: your body rejecting the new liver.
There is pain after liver transplant surgery, however it is generally not as severe as with other abdominal surgeries. This is because nerves are severed during the initial abdominal incision causing numbness of the skin around the abdomen. These nerves regenerate over the following six months and sensation returns.
Recovering from a liver transplant can be a long process, but most people will eventually be able to return to most of their normal activities and have a good quality of life. It can take up to a year to fully recover, although you'll usually be able to start gradually building up your activities after a few weeks.
After liver transplant surgery, you will have a long recovery period ahead of you. Just know that you will start feeling better and stronger soon. Making sure your body accepts the new liver is very important to your success and recovery.
In summary, the leading causes of late deaths after transplant were graft failure, malignancy, cardiovascular disease and renal failure. Older age, diabetes, and renal insufficiency identified patients at highest risk of poor survival overall.
The Liver Transplant Procedure
Your surgeon will make a cut across your abdomen, just below your rib cage.
Exercise and physical activity should be a regular part of your life after a liver transplant to continue improving your overall physical and mental health. Soon after your transplant, you should walk as much as you can.
Alcohol and Other Toxins
A transplanted liver may be more sensitive to damage by chemicals, including alcohol. The transplantation team recommends that recipients avoid overuse of alcoholic beverages after transplantation.
Three years after surgery, patients who had the liver transplant alone maintained a weight loss of a median of 3.9 percent of their total body weight compared to 34.8 percent for patients who had the transplant and weight-loss surgery.
Very common longer-term risks
The most common infections are chest or urine infections. These are usually fairly straightforward to treat with antibiotic tablets. Infections inside the liver transplant itself can be harder to treat.
As you wait for surgery, you will meet regularly with doctors and other members of your transplant team to assess any progression of your liver disease and provide you with the resources you need to stay healthy.
Chronic rejection usually leads to the loss of bile ducts (ductopenia). Another liver transplant may be needed. Rejection is suspected when the liver starts to work less well. This is usually first picked up on blood tests.
Patients who are considered to be temporarily unsuitable for liver transplant are listed as inactive (Status 7). Reasons include being too sick for transplant, lack of insurance, patient choice, and medical, surgical or psychosocial contraindications.
You may be disqualified from having a liver transplant if you have: Current alcohol or drug abuse problems. Uncontrolled infection that will not go away with a transplant. Metastatic cancer or bile duct cancer.
You will be kept on a breathing machine (ventilator) for a day or so and will be followed very closely by the staff there. The average length of stay in the ICU is two days, after which you will be transferred to the medical floor/ transplant unit.
While waiting on the list patients are advised to stay as healthy as possible by eating a healthy balanced diet, taking regular exercise, completely avoiding alcohol, not smoking etc. An average waiting time for a liver transplant is 149 days for adults and 86 days for children.
Excess weight gain is common after liver transplantation. Maximum weight gain occurs in the first six months after transplant. Usually patients gain about 5 kg weight within the first year, and 10 kg by the end of three years. About 30% patients may become obese and develop metabolic syndrome.
It may take 2 to 4 months for your energy to fully return. After the transplant, you must take medicine to keep your body from rejecting the new liver. You will need to take anti-rejection medicine every day from now on. These medicines have side effects.
You will be asleep during the surgery. You may get an epidural catheter. This is a small tube that puts pain medicine directly into the area in your back around your spinal cord.
The procedure
During the operation, the surgeon will: make a large cut (incision) that goes across your tummy and up towards your chest. remove your damaged liver and replace it with the new one. connect the new liver to your blood vessels and bile ducts.