liver transplant
The definitions used in this glossary of terminology either have been provided by the authors of the articles, or have been extracted wholly or in part, or paraphrased from the following sources: The American Medical Association Encyclopedia of Medicine, Charles B. Clayman, MD, Medical Editor, Random House, New York, 1989; Biotechnology from A to Z, 2d Edition, William Bains, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; A Dictionary of Genetics, 6th Edition, Robert C. King and William D. Stansfield, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 29th and 30th Editions, W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 2000, 2003; Genes VII, Benjamin Lewin, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2000; The Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders, Volumes I and II, Stacey L. Blachford, Ed., Thomson Learning, New York, New York, 2002; The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Inc., Springfield, Massachusetts, 1997; Molecular Biology of the Cell, 3rd Edition, Bruce Alberts, et al., Garland Publishing, 1994; The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged Edition, 1966; Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, 1991.
DEFINITION:
- liver transplant
-
Replacement of a diseased liver with a healthy organ removed from a donor who has been declared brain dead. Liver transplantation is a technically difficult procedure, but is now accepted as a feasible and appropriate treatment for some types of advanced liver disease. The chances of surviving for many years with a transplanted liver are improving, but they are not yet as high as the chances of surviving with a kidney transplant.
Why It Is Done
Transplantation is worth considering only for people with life-threatening or severely debilitating liver disease. However, if the disease process is too advanced, the person is unlikely to survive the operation. An assessment must be made of the likely length of survival and the quality of life with and without the operation.
In adults, the best results are obtained in the treatment of advanced liver cirrhosis in people with long-standing chronic active hepatitis or primary biliary cirrhosis. In acute liver failure, there can be difficulty in obtaining donor organs at an appropriate time but people with a slightly less acute illness and those with Budd-Chiari syndrome have been successfully treated. People with primary liver cancer are rarely considered for transplantation because there is a high risk that the tumor will recur.
In children, congenital biliary atresia is the most common reason for transplantation.
How It Is Done
The donor organ is obtained from someone who has suffered brain death but whose liver is still healthy. The organ can be stored in cold salt solutions for a few hours.
A general anesthetic is given and the recipients abdomen is opened. The diseased liver is removed, the donor organ is inserted in its place, and the major blood vessels and common bile duct are reconnected.
Recovery Period
The first few days after the operation are spent in an intensive-care unit. Immunosuppressant drugs (particularly cyclosporine) are given to reduce the risk of rejection.
Outlook
In some cases rejection occurs and a second transplant operation provides the only hope. There is now a 60 to 80 percent chance of surviving one year, which may mean that more than half of the people now receiving liver transplants will survive for five years. The qualify of life is generally excellent, with most people returning to near normal activity within a few weeks of the operation.
Used in 1 Term definition
Used in 1 Term definition