Department of Surgery

Division of Solid Organ Transplantation

Procedures

Liver Transplant Surgery

Liver Diseases

Guide to Liver Transplant • What Does the Liver Do? • Liver Diseases • What is a Liver Transplant? • Is a Transplant Right For You? • The Transplant Process • Lodging & Accommodations • Resources • General Information for Transplant Patients

Several diseases can injure the liver and stop it from working correctly. These include:

• Cirrhosis: Scar tissue replaces normal, healthy tissue, blocking the flow of blood through the organ and preventing it from working as it should; a major cause of cirrhosis is excessive alcohol consumption.
  
  
• Hepatitis: Inflammation or swelling of the liver, usually caused by a virus. There are several types of viral hepatitis; the most common are known as:
  • Hepatitis A
  • Hepatitis B
  • Hepatitis C (Hepatitis C is the most serious)
    
    
• Cancer: Cells in the liver reproduce faster than they should, creating growths called tumors; liver cancer can be fatal.
  
  
• Wilson Disease: An inherited metabolic disorder in which the body has too much copper.
  
  
• Non-cancerous tumors
  
  
• Problems with the major blood vessels that supply the liver

These diseases, and others, can be treated in a number of ways. But if they have progressed far enough and a liver is damaged badly enough, and if other treatments have been unsuccessful, a liver transplant may be the best treatment option. Your primary doctor will make the referral to the Strong Health Division of Solid Organ Transplantation.