Ask a doctor - What are the risks associated with liver transplant?

Q. What are the risks associated with liver transplant?

Doctor Answer is medically reviewed by SecondMedic medical review team.

Answered by Secondmedic Expert

The risks associated with liver transplant are serious and should not be taken lightly.

First, the patient's body may reject the new liver, leading to organ failure. This can occur when the body views the transplanted organ as foreign and tries to fight it off. This is known as acute rejection and can happen anytime from one or two weeks after surgery up to a few months afterward. To reduce this risk, doctors try to match organs as closely as possible between donor and recipient in terms of blood type, size and other factors that could play a role in successful transplantation.

Second, infection is another major risk associated with liver transplant surgeries. Since any invasive procedure carries some chance of infection at the surgical site, patients may need frequent check-ups so that their progress can be monitored post-transplantation for signs of infection such as fever and swelling redness around sutures etc.. Additionally they must take antibiotics regularly during recovery period to ward off bacterial infections like urinary tract infections Clostridium difficile or HIV that might otherwise jeopardize their recovery process significantly increase complications even death if left untreated.

Thirdly, after recovering from surgery patients are likely experience chronic fatigue due which makes them vulnerable towards developing secondary complications like high cholesterol diabetes hypertensionetc These conditions could further impair their long-term health prospects if left untreated for too long time frame hence it’s essential for all recovered individuals adopt healthy lifestyle re embrace routines contain regular exercise eating nutritious meals abstaining from illegal drugs avoiding excessive drinking alcohol effectively managing stress levels sign up professional medical guidance every now then taking prescribed medications on consistent basis monitor blood pressure/glucose levels frequently throughout year etc.. Long story short even though live transplantation offers comparatively effectiveness treatment option its zigzag point various life threatening risks & lengthy recovery process make imperative an extra layer caution before making final decision about undergoing related procedure within desired amount resources permitted circumstances allows!