Liver transplantation, also called hepatic transplantation, is the replacement of a diseased liver with a healthy liver allograft from another person, used to treat end-stage liver disease and acute liver failure when the damage cannot be reversed by other means. The surgery is highly regulated, performed only at specialized transplant centers by experienced physicians, and depends on careful evaluation of prospective recipients and matching with a living or deceased donor; the availability of donor organs remains a major limitation on the procedure. Because it carries substantial risk and requires significant lifestyle adjustment afterward, liver transplantation is typically reserved for the most severe, life-threatening cases, though its indications have expanded in some settings to include patients whose colorectal cancer has spread to the liver.
Facts
Origin YearFirst attempted human liver transplant; the patient died intraoperatively. Long term success followed in 1967, also performed by Starzl. Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationWikipedia, Liver transplantation, History section
The first attempted human liver transplant was performed in 1963 by Thomas Starzl, although the pediatric patient died intraoperatively due to uncontrolled bleeding.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liver_transplantation, lead section
Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft).
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