When standard therapies are no longer working to manage end-stage liver disease, it may be time to consider a liver transplant. Our liver transplant team listens to your concerns and helps you to decide which transplant option is best for you.

We offer several liver transplant options:

During this procedure, we replace your diseased liver with a healthy liver from a deceased donor.

Surgeons split a single liver from a deceased donor into two portions. You receive one portion of the liver, and a second recipient gets the other.

Living donor transplantation is a procedure where a living person gives you a portion of their liver. Finding a living liver donor can shorten your wait time.

You may need several organs replaced during one surgery. We offer multi-organ transplants such as liver-kidney and liver-heart.

This transplantation removes the whole liver to cure liver cancer. We remove the diseased liver and replace it with a healthy one from a living or deceased donor.

When standard therapies are no longer working, we offer liver transplant options for children diagnosed with liver disease.

 
You stay in the hospital for seven to 10 days following liver transplant. After the surgery, our specialists prepare you for long-term post-transplant care. This team may include a:

• Surgeon

• Hepatologist

• Transplant coordinator

• Nurse specialist

• Physical therapist

• Dietitian

• Social worker

In the first few weeks after the transplant, we see you frequently in our outpatient clinic, and you work with a physical therapist to regain your strength. If you live outside the St. Louis area, you can arrange temporary lodging near the hospital for the first few weeks of observation.

You meet with the liver transplant team several times in the year following your surgery. Typically, follow-up appointments include: 

• The first two months: We do lab work twice weekly to check for rejection or infection.

• The first six months: We continue monitoring you with weekly lab work.

• The rest of the first year: After your 6-month visit, we see you at 9 and 12 months following the transplant. The frequency of lab work varies depending on your condition. Usually, you will have lab work once or twice a month until the end of the first year.

• Once per year afterward: We see you once per year for follow-up after the first year.

Organ transplantation requires life-long immunosuppressive medication. We help you understand your prescriptions and monitor you for side effects.

It is important to remember:

• Anti-rejection medications suppress your immune system so your body doesn't reject the transplanted liver.

• Because the medication suppresses your immune system, you are more prone to infection, especially during the first three to six months after transplant.

Our team helps you avoid and manage rejection by:

• Discussing the signs and symptoms of rejection with you

• Testing and routine clinic appointments

• Treating rejection with additional medication to prevent complications 

The risk of rejection decreases over time but can occur at any time. Follow your medication regimens and physician orders to prevent rejection. If you experience any unusual symptoms, call your transplant nurse coordinator immediately.