The INTEGRIS Health liver transplant experts use proven innovations to successfully treat people with liver failure, resulting in better outcomes and quality of life.
You can’t live without a working liver and if your liver does stop working properly, you may need a transplant. At the INTEGRIS Nazih Zuhdi Transplant Institute, you’re in the hands of some of the finest organ transplant surgeons in the region. Our one-year survival rates regularly exceed the national rate. The liver transplant experts utilize the latest techniques and tools to ensure you have the best outcome possible. And with a dedicated organ transplant intensive care unit staffed with highly skilled, full-time critical care specialists and nurses, you can rest assured that you’ll receive the best care both before and after your transplant.
Patients are referred from across the country to INTEGRIS Nazih Zuhdi Transplant Institute for liver transplants and we accept high risk adult candidates for transplant, those who were turned down elsewhere due to the complexity of their diseases.
When a liver is diseased, the only option is to replace it with a healthy liver. Increasing the odds for patients on the waiting list is that, today, a whole liver can be transplanted, or just part of one.
A liver transplant is surgery to replace a diseased liver with a healthy liver from another person. A whole liver may be transplanted, or just part of one.
In most cases the healthy liver will come from an organ donor who has just died.
You can’t live without a working liver. If your liver stops working properly, you may need a transplant. A liver transplant may be recommended if you have end-stage liver disease (chronic liver failure). This is a serious, life-threatening liver disease. It can be caused by several liver conditions.
Cirrhosis is a common cause of end-stage liver disease. It is a chronic liver disease. It happens when healthy liver tissue is replaced with scar tissue. This stops the liver from working properly.
Other diseases that may lead to end-stage liver disease include:
Early referral for liver transplants highly desirable if:
If your provider thinks you may be a good candidate for a liver transplant, he or she will refer you to a transplant center for evaluation.
You will have a variety of tests done by the transplant center team. They will decide whether to place your name on a national transplant waiting list. The transplant center team will include:
The transplant evaluation process includes:
The transplant center team will review all of your information. Each transplant center has rules about who can have a liver transplant.
Not everyone is a candidate for liver transplantation. You may not be eligible if you have:
Some complications from liver surgery may include:
Your new liver may also be rejected by your body’s disease-fighting system (immune system). Rejection is the body’s normal reaction to a foreign object or tissue. When a new liver is transplanted into your body, your immune system thinks it is a threat and attacks it.
To help the new liver survive in your body, you must take anti-rejection medicines (immunosuppressive medicines). These medicines weaken your immune system’s response. You must take these medicines for the rest of your life.
Some liver diseases can come back after transplant.
To help the transplant be more successful, you may be started on hepatitis B or C medicines ahead of time, if you have these diseases.
If you are accepted as a transplant candidate, your name will be placed on a national transplant waiting list. People who most urgently need a new liver are put at the top of the list. Many people have to wait a long time for a new liver.
You will be notified when an organ is available because a donor has died. You will have to go to the hospital right away to get ready for surgery.
Your healthcare provider may have other instructions for you based on your medical condition.
Liver transplant surgery requires a hospital stay. Procedures may vary depending on your condition and your provider’s practices.
Generally, a liver transplant follows this process:
In the Hospital
At Home
Call your healthcare provider if you have any of the following:
Your healthcare provider may give you other instructions, depending on your situation.
You must take medicines for the rest of your life to help the transplanted liver survive in your body. These medicines are called anti-rejection medicines (immunosuppressive medicines). They weaken your immune system’s response.
Each person may react differently to medicines, and each transplant team has preferences for different medicines.
New anti-rejection medicines are always being made and approved. Your provider will create a medicine treatment plan that is right for you. In most cases you will take a few anti-rejection medicines at first. The doses may change often, depending on how you respond to them.
Because anti-rejection medicines affect the immune system, people who have a transplant are at a higher risk for infections. Some of the infections you will be at greater risk for include:
For the first few months after your surgery, you should avoid contact with crowds or anyone who has an infection.
Each person may have different symptoms of rejection. Some common symptoms of rejection include:
The symptoms of rejection may look like other health problems. Talk with your transplant team about any concerns you have. It is important to see them and speak with them often.
Before you agree to the test or the procedure make sure you know:
