Liver Transplant

Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a diseased liver with a healthy liver from another person. Liver transplantation is a treatment option for end-stage liver disease and acute liver failure

How and why is it done?

Liver transplant surgery is a major operation that will take between six and 12 hours. During this operation, the surgeon replaces a patient's diseased liver with a whole or partial healthy liver from another person. Types of organ donors are brain-dead organ donors, cardiac-death organ donors, and living organ donors. 

Liver transplant surgery carries a risk of significant complications. There are risks associated with the procedure itself and with the drugs necessary to prevent rejection of the donor's liver after the transplant. Anti-rejection drugs or immunosuppressants are prescribed after the transplant surgery.