Know about Liver transplant surgery in India.

The human liver is a vital organ. It does more than 500 functions in the human body, much of them being crucial in helping human bodies to carry out their everyday process properly. These involve blood filtering, toxin removal, storing vitamins, minerals, drug metabolization, and bile production.

If someone's liver catches some severe disease, like liver cirrhosis, all the essential functions are severaly affected.

A liver transplant, also known as a hepatic transplant, can assist you in saving your life when your liver stops working. The whole treatment mainly includes removing the entire liver surgically. Then it is replaced either with all or part of a healthy liver donated by someone. Liver transplantation is done for chronic liver diseases along with severe acute liver diseases.

Liver transplantation is advised when a person suffers from liver failure that can bring him to life-threatening conditions. As we know, there are two kinds of liver failures.

• Acute liver failure that occurs suddenly because of an infection.
• Chronic liver failure that takes several months or even years to develop because of exposure to certain chemicals, medicines as well as some factors.

Cause of liver failure that needs liver transplantation surgery are:

• Chronic hepatitis
• Liver cirrhosis which is liver tissue scarring that results in liver function failure. It occurs mainly because of excessive alcohol consumption, fatty liver disease, and inherited genetic disorders.
• Autoimmune liver disease: It affects the bile duct known as primary biliary cirrhosis, Biliary atresia, which is a sporadic disease and is one of the most common reasons behind liver transplantation among children.
• Genetic liver disease is known as hemochromatosis, Wilson's disease, and many more.
• Liver cancer like primary hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatic adenomas, and cholangiocarcinoma.
• Hepatic thrombosis
• Viral hepatitis and hepatic failure.

Where the donated liver comes from for liver transplantation?

Mainly there are two kinds of donors:

• Deceased donor: Here, the liver is extracted from that donor who is already dead, and his/her family has given the organ donation consent. Here the entire liver from the donor is removed and then is used for placing it in the recipient body.
• Living donor: An utterly healthy person who is closely related to the patient can donate a portion of his or her liver. It is possible because your liver can quickly regenerate and grow to its standard size once the surgery is done.

The safety of the donor is paramount, for which several screening tests are carried out to make sure the donot is entirely healthy and posses the compatible blood type.

Living donor liver transplantation has a maximum success rate because the patient obtains the transplant before his/her deteriorates further.

Different kinds of liver transplantation surgery in India.
Basically, there are three kinds of liver transplantation surgeries. They are

• Orthotopic liver transplantation: In this liver transplantation process, the entire liver of the dead donor is removed, preserved, and then transported to the receiver location. The time interval between taking the healthy liver out and then placing it in the recipient body is between 12-18 hours. Once the diseased liver is disconnected from the blood vessels and other abdominal structure that holds it, the liver from the donor's liver is placed, and the blood flow is then restored. A small tube is then set for connecting to the bile duct.
• Heterotopic liver transplantation: This kind of surgery is done by placing the healthy donor's liver on one side, and the diseased liver remains intact. It is done if the doctor believes that the diseased liver will recover at some of the other time. The donor's liver is placed very close to the receiver's liver. If the patient's liver starts healing, the other liver shrinks. But when the original liver fails to function, it starts fading, and the donor's liver starts working.
• Reduced size liver transplantation: This is done mainly in children. Here about 15-20% of the original liver remains intact. It includes transplanting a part of the healthy donor liver to the recipient.

What is done before liver transplant surgery in India?
Before liver transplantation surgery, a patient has to undergo a complete medical evaluation with some of the specific tests. The primary purpose of these evaluations is to determine the level of fitness of the patient and check for the underlying medical conditions that can affect the success of the transplant and the patient's capability to follow through with the recovery. The team behind liver transplantation then decides if or not the patient is perfect for the liver transplant surgery.
One of the standard tests that are carried out before the liver transplantation surgery is

• Computed tomography
• Doppler ultrasound
• Stress testing
• Echocardiogram
• Test for pulmonary functions
• Blood tests for determination of the clotting ability, type of blood as well as liver function.

Then, in addition to the above test, psychological evaluation, counseling, and meetings with the social workers are also conducted.

What happens during liver transplant surgery in India?

Liver transplantation is a complex surgery that takes around five to ten hours. This duration varies based on the surgery complexity as well as the doctor's experience. A complex liver surgery takes about 12-14 hours in total.

Following are the steps of surgery:
Before the surgery is done, the patient is administered with general anesthesia, and then a tube is inserted through the mouth to help her breathe.
Then an incision is made in the abdomen and then removed the diseased liver carefully by disconnecting all bile duct and blood vessels.
Then the healthy liver is kept in the same position and is then attached to the blood vessels and the bile duct.

Recovery:
Once the surgery is done, the patient is sent to the intensive care unit and monitored closely by the transplantation team. The whole process is complicated and includes good care as well as maintenance after the operation. The patient has to stay for about 2-3 weeks based on how the liver is working.

It is often recommended to visit the doctor either twice or thrice a week for about three months. The transplantation surgeon keeps an close supervision on the progress of the patients and advice for blood tests and other evaluations.

Follow-up care is extremely important after surgery for about one year, but it differs from patient to patient based on their condition as well as total health.

After liver transplantation, medicine plays a very crucial role. In addition to the organ suppressants for fighting organ injection, the patient is given many other medications, vitamins etc. It helps in preventing further infection and also keeps the blood pressure in control.

Some of the tests like lungs biopsies, scans in the abdomen, and ultrasound is also recommended for assessing the liver function and the health of the patient after surgery.

The medications, as well as tests, are also accompanied by some dietary restrictions as because obesity is one of the major problems after liver transplant surgery.

What are the advantages of Liver transplant surgery in India?
There are numerous benefits of liver transplantation.

• It is like a life-saver for someone who is in end-stage liver disease. It is always better to do the transplantation surgery in the early stage, which in turn enhances the success rate as well as survival post-transplantation. When you wait long before doing transplantation, then your live might get deteriorated.
• Liver transplantation with a living donor saves the patient from the long organ waiting list. The surgery is scheduled according to the convenience of both the donor as well as the patient.
• Know about the success rate of liver transplantation in India.

For 72% of the patients who carry out liver transplantation have a life expectancy of about five years. The living donor has more survival rate. More than 90% of the transplant receivers survive for around one year. The long-term success rate is about 55-60%.
Most people be able to live healthy, productive as well as healthy based on each case.
In simple words, the success rate after liver transplantation varies based on patients.

What are the rules and regulations to follow for liver transplantation in India?
The foreign patients who want to do liver transplantation in India have to follow specific rules and regulations.

• The approval process is faster when the compatibility must be watched for the patient and the donor.
• You cannot choose a donor from India. Instead, the living donor should be from your own country.
• The approval process for transplantation will be faster if the donor is your close relative.
• The blood group and compatibility should match for both patients as well as money.
• Factors that have an impact on the total cost of liver transplantation in India. Such factors are
• Fees of the surgeon
• Kind of surgery
• Room category'
• Postoperative recovering.

The cost of liver transplantation surgery in India is quite affordable even after the expenses for medication, hospitals are met.

Many top multi-specialty hospitals have specific liver transplantation centers that offer all kinds of liver transplants like living donors, cadaveric, ABO compatibility liver transplantation, and swap liver transplantation.

The doctors for liver transplantation are pretty knowledgeable and experienced in transplant surgeries. These hospitals in India offer some holistic care to the post covid persons.

One of the significant factors that affect the cost of transplantation in India. Medical treatment in India costs significantly less India when compared to other countries. Several globally known hospitals provide budget-friendly packages without any compromise on the quality of service.

If you are looking for a successful liver transplant surgery in India, Medicare can help you to get the best facilities and provision for your liver transplantation surgery. The dedicated team of transplantation offers you the best treatment possible.

Know a bit about the liver transplantation statistics in India.

Each year about 20-25 million people across the world need liver transplantation in India.In India around 2,00,000 people die from liver disease and 50,000-60,000 people need liver transplantation.

At the international level, about 25000 liver transplants are carried out every year. But in India, doctors carry out around 700-100 transplants. The primary reason for common reasons for liver transplantation in India is because of less availability of donors and the cost.

Liver transplantation surgery in India is one of the major surgery that includes highly trained medical staff, and processes require high-end instruments, medicines as well as medical products. Because of this, the cost of transplantation of liver is quite expensive. From looking for the best healthcare provider to performing the surgery and a lingering recovery period, every factor adds to the process cost. Some of the other factors that also impact the cost of liver transplantation are anti-rejection medications, exclusive lab tests, hospital stay, physical therapy, and rehabilitation.

But when compared with other countries, liver transplant surgery in India is one-twentieth of what it is in western countries.

FAQ

How long liver transplant will last?

Liver transplant when done properly gives best outcomes. Receivers are known to live a completely normal life even after 30 years of the operation.

What is the quality of my life after liver transplantation?

The initial three months are little difficult because your body adjusts with the new liver. All you have to do is maintain its health properly. By the time the patient gets discharged from the hospital, they will have the capability to care for themselves with only some minor restrictions.

Will liver disease recur after transplantation?

Some of the liver disease might come back even after transplantation. The transplant advises you better about the recurrence of any ailment. In case, there is risk involved, the team will monitor to prohibit it.

How much pain one suffers from after the surgery?

There is pain but not as severe as other surgeries in the abdomen. One of the most common pain after transplantation is the back pain that depends on the time length on the operation table.

What is the success rate of liver transplantation?

Liver transplantation surgery in India is quite effective about 85% no matter whether living donor or deceased donor.