ABC Medical Center > Procedures > Liver transplant

What is liver transplant?

4 May 2021

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When a patient’s liver is severely damaged and does not improve with any treatment, becoming dysfunctional, it is necessary to perform this surgical procedure that consists of replacing the diseased liver with a healthy one from a deceased donor or with a part of a healthy liver removed from a living donor, with the aim of providing more time and quality of life to the patient.

This procedure is indicated in the presence of very advanced liver disease whose fatal outcome is imminent. 

Preoperative protocol:

Once the organ to be transplanted is available, you will be assessed by a multidisciplinary medical team that will explain the potential risks. They will also request various studies to assess your liver status and verify the compatibility of the organ to be transplanted.

Postoperative recovery:

You must consider that after surgery you will remain in the hospital from seven to ten days. The first two days you will be in the Intensive Care Unit, as you will need rigorous care to ensure that your body is adapting correctly to the transplant.

The recovery time ranges from six to seven months, a period in which you must have periodic examinations, and also take medications for life to avoid organ rejection.

Potential risks:

  • Stroke or heart attack.
  • Fever, bleeding, and infection.
  • Clots.
  • Mental disorders or seizures.
  • Jaundice.
  • Dysfunction of the transplanted liver.
  • Respiratory complications.
  • Rejection of the transplanted liver.

It is important to mention that with a liver transplant there is a risk of re-developing failure in the transplanted liver. 

The Transplant Center, with more than ten years of service, has a multidisciplinary care model for different solid organ transplants within a highly professional, safe, and comfortable environment, in strict adherence to the highest standards in safety and patient care.

Organ and tissue transplants constitute the most important therapeutic advance in the last 50 years in the field of health sciences. Achieving this has involved practically every specialty of modern medicine.

Related centers and departments:

  • Transplant Center
  • High Specialty Surgery Center
  • Cancer Center
  • Radiology and Molecular Imaging
  • Clinical Laboratory

Fuentes: 

  • mayoclinic.org
  • fundahigadoamerica.org
  • msdmanuals.com
  • cun.es
  • medigraphic.com
  • Lara-Perea D, Calixto-Flores A. Aspectos del perioperatorio para la anestesia del trasplante hepático. Rev Mex Anest. 2017;40 (Suppl: 1):376-377.
  • Mendoza-Sánchez F, Ramírez-González LR, Reyes-Cruz AA, et al. Evaluación de la calidad de vida en pacientes con trasplante hepático. Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc. 2016;54(2):176-181.
  • Espín-Vega AF, Yáñez-Cortés EFJ, Hernández-Aguilar C. Uso de tromboelastografía en cirugías de trasplante hepático y hepatectomías. Rev Mex Anest. 2015;38(3):154-160.
  • Freire DMI, Batista BVA. El significado del trasplante de hígado para el paciente en lista de espera: abordaje de la fenomenología. Rev Cuba Enf. 2012;28(4):485-494.

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