Pediatric liver transplant

A Liver Transplant is a medical procedure that is done to replace an infected liver with a healthy liver from a Donor.

Liver Transplant is also advised for children who have persistent liver illnesses and they can’t survive without receiving another liver. The most widely recognized liver ailment in youngsters is Biliary Atresia. Biliary Atresia condition occurs in infants in which the bile ducts are inflamed and blocked. Bile is a digestive liquid that is made in the liver and helps digest fat. It also carries waste products from the liver to the intestines for removal from the body.

Due to this condition, bile hence is unable to flow into the intestine. So bile keeps building up in the liver and eventually damages it. The damage leads to scarring, loss of liver tissue and function, and cirrhosis.

Different conditions where a youngster may require a liver transplant

• Acute liver failure. It can occur because of different reasons like infections, autoimmune disease or an excess of medication.
• Metabolic liver sicknesses like tyrosinemia, Wilson’s infection
• Hereditary liver sicknesses like Alagille condition or cholestatic disorders
• Liver malignant growth like hepatoblastoma
• Liver tumors
• Budd-Chiari disorder
• Alpha-1 antitrypsin

related to your child but the blood group should get matched.

What are the risks of a liver transplant for a child?

There are risks in Liver Transplant for a child, just like for adults.

Possible Risks could include;

• Bleeding
• Rejection of the new liver by the child’s immune system
• Infection
• Blocked blood vessels to the new liver
• Leakage of bile
• Blocked bile ducts

Rejection of the new liver is a normal reaction of the body’s immune system. To prevent such rejection of the liver survive in your child’s body, the child must be given anti-rejection medicines.