Surgery

A liver transplant can be performed using a variety of techniques. Surgeons at Rush are very experienced in all of them, and they will utilize the techniques best suited to both you and your donor. The majority of liver transplant procedures at Rush take approximately five hours. Most patients spend one to two days recovering in the intensive care unit, then spend five to seven days on a designated transplant floor before going home.

Following discharge from the hospital, patients living within a three-hour drive are permitted to go directly home. Patients living more than three hours away are encouraged to stay in the area for one week following discharge.

Recovery

After discharge from the hospital, patients are seen every week (for approximately three weeks) in the outpatient clinic for an examination and monitoring of blood tests. During this time, medications are adjusted based on the levels found in your blood.

After approximately one month, patients are usually seen only two to three times during the first year. Also beginning at one month, blood is checked every other week; eventually, it is checked only once a month.

Most patients are encouraged to resume physical activity, including work, after three to six months, depending on their recovery. Patients may resume heavy activity, including workouts, at six months.

As for life expectancy, more than 80 percent of patients are alive more than five years after liver transplantation.

Medications

Liver transplant recipients are generally prescribed two types of medications: immunosuppressive medications to prevent rejection and antibiotics to prevent infections. Most patients will be maintained on a primary immunosuppressive agent, either Tacrolimus (Program) or Cyclosporine (Neoral). One of these agents is generally taken for life following a transplant. Patients usually require a higher dose of these agents immediately following their transplant because rejection more commonly occurs in the first three months. In time, the dose is lowered, but lifelong therapy is necessary.

Some patients may be on additional immunosuppressive agents, such as rapamycin (Rapamune), mycophenolate (Cellcept) or prednisone. Most of the additional agents are given for only short periods of time (two to six months). Each of these agents has its own side effects; your transplant team will discuss these with you in detail, depending on which agent you are prescribed.