This booklet has been designed to give you the information you and your family need to help you understand what is involved in liver transplantation. Various members of the Transplant Team will discuss this information with you. You are encouraged to ask questions or talk about any anxieties concerning any of this information. Our aim is to inform you about liver transplantation, so that you can make decisions about your treatment based on a good knowledge of the procedures, benefits and risks of liver transplantation.
The Liver Transplant Unit at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital was opened in 1986. Since then the Unit has performed approximately 721 transplants. Over 2000 liver transplants have been performed altogether in Australia.
The general goals of liver transplantation are to prolong life and improve the quality of life while optimising the use of available liver donors. The liver transplant process continues to evolve and improve, demonstrating excellent survival rates, now over 90% one year patient survival rates.
Most diseases that end with liver failure have been successfully treated by liver transplantation. The most common indications for liver transplantation in adults are chronic hepatitis C, hepatitis B, primary biliary cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, autoimmune liver disease and alcoholic liver disease. Other indications include metabolic liver diseases including haemochromatosis and Wilson’s disease, acute liver failure and hepatocellular cancer.
Liver transplantation is usually recommended when there is a progressive deterioration in your liver function. Liver failure is manifested by a number of physical and clinical symptoms (eg: ascites (abdominal swelling due to fluid accumulation), variceal bleeding (bleeding from large veins in the oesophagus), hepatic encephalopathy (confusion and vagueness), or malnutrition) and by changes in your blood results that suggest deteriorating liver function (eg: low albumin, rising bilirubin and blood clotting abnormalities).