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Transplant Hepatologist - Chapel Hill, NC

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What is Transplant Hepatology (Liver Transplant Medicine)?

Transplant hepatology is a specialty that studies and treats advanced liver diseases that require liver transplants. Transplant hepatologists evaluate liver transplant candidates and provide post-transplant care, including managing complications that hinder liver recovery and function. While transplant hepatologists do not perform transplant surgery, they help ensure that a liver transplant is successful by tending to various aspects of the entire transplant process.

Some conditions which a transplant hepatologist may treat include:

  • Acute liver failure (life-threatening liver injury from infection or toxins)
  • Chronic liver failure from genetic, autoimmune, and other liver diseases causing cirrhosis (liver scarring) and liver destruction
  • Hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer)

Prior to a patient's liver transplantation, transplant hepatologists prescribe treatments to manage the symptoms of the patient's liver condition. For fluid retention resulting from a malfunctioning liver, transplant hepatologists may provide special diet plans, drainage of excess fluid through a needle, and diuretic medications. Other pre-transplant symptoms a transplant hepatologist may address include gastrointestinal bleeding or cognitive malfunction caused by a damaged liver, known as hepatic encephalopathy.

Liver transplants are either partial or full replacements for a patient's diseased liver. Each transplant carries a risk of the receiving patient being vulnerable to infection and other complications. If a donated liver is rejected, a patient may need a second liver transplant, or the patient's condition will progressively worsen. Transplant hematologists can mitigate and treat disorders that arise after a transplant, such as:

  • Immunosuppression
  • Infectious diseases
  • Surgical complications (such as blood clotting and bile leakage)

Transplant hepatologists may collaborate with hepatologists, organ transplant surgeons, endocrinologists, and other specialists to assist patients through the liver transplantation process.