When You Need a Liver Transplant

Liver performs over 500 vital functions of your body, making it an organ essential for survival. While mild liver infections can be cured using medications, severe liver damage due to prolonged infections or liver diseases may lead to permanent damage. The only way to cure permanent liver damage is a liver transplant surgery.

Though the success rate of liver transplant has risen to over 95%, it is best to detect any liver damage at an early stage.

Early Symptoms of Liver Diseases

Some common early symptoms of liver damage include:

• Yellowing of skin and eyes
• Tiredness or feeling exhausted
• Nausea and vomiting
• Swelling on feet and ankles

Do not neglect any of these symptoms as liver diseases if not treated in time can convert into end-stage liver disease that will require a liver transplant surgery.

Factors Considered for Liver Transplant

When your liver loses about 80-90% of its functionality, it is considered that you are suffering from end-stage liver disease. In such cases, liver specialists recommend liver transplant surgery but only after complete examination. Some factors that specialists take into consideration while recommending liver transplant are:

• The amount of damage is the first thing to be considered. Patients are given a MELD score to see their 90-day survival chances.
• Patient is checked for any other medical conditions such as diabetes, heart problems, HIV, or allergies to any medicine. This is to ensure that nothing comes in the way of the transplant.
• Patient is also diagnosed with mental anxiety or depression because to heal properly you need to be mentally strong. If needed, counseling sessions are conducted for the patient telling them about the effectiveness of this treatment and their survival chances.
• The cost of liver transplant is too expensive for middle class families to arrange at a short interval of time. Patients are given medications to avoid further damage and help the patient survive for a while so that the amount required for surgery can be arranged meanwhile.
• Patient is also checked for alcohol or drug consumption. If the patient is an alcohol addict, he or she is made to follow a healthy lifestyle for a particular period and is only operated on later (depending on the severity of liver damage).

These factors are important in deciding whether you need liver transplant surgery or not. Take care of your liver and take any of the early symptoms seriously to avoid such conditions.