Cirrhosis surgery
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Aditya Govindavarjhulla, M.B.B.S. [2]
Overview
Typically for a patient with progressed cirrhosis of the liver, transplantation may be the only viable treatment. If transplantation is not possible or desired, a patient may undergo the TIPS procedure which has demonstrated a great deal of success.
Surgery
Transplantation
- Patients with decompensated cirrhosis (having complications such as encephalopathy, ascites, variceal hemorrhage, hepatorenal syndrome or compromised hepatic function) are treated with liver transplantation.
- Liver transplantation may be carried out after assessment of the patient’s quality of life, absence of contraindications and disease severity.
- The evaluation of a patient with cirrhosis for transplantation begins once the MELD score is >10. This provides an adequate window for pre-transplanation evaluation.
- Patients typically become candidates for liver transplantation once the MELD score is ≥15, but this may not leave enough time for patient education and counseling, especially in cases where hepatic encephalopathy sets in.
- Patients qualify as candidates for liver transplantation irrespective of their MELD score in the following conditions:
- Hepatic artery thrombosis
- Hilar cholangiocarcinoma
- HCC
- Hepatopulmonary syndrome
- Refractory ascites, hepatic encephalopathy or variceal hemorrhage
- Portal hypertensive gastropathy
- Intractable pruritus in a patient with primary biliary cirrhosis
- Cystic fibrosis
- Primary hyperoxaluria
- Familial amyloid polyneuropathy
- Survival from liver transplantation has been improving over the 1990s, and the five-year survival rate is now around 80%, depending largely on the severity of disease and medical comorbidities in the recipient.[1]
- In the United States, the MELD score is used to prioritize patients for transplantation.[2]
- Transplantation necessitates the use of immune suppressants (ciclosporin or tacrolimus).
- Prevalence
- Patients treated with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) have decreased need for liver transplantation in patients presenting with primary biliary cirrhosis.[3]
- Symptoms After Surgery
- Complications of end stage liver disease that were present before transplantation are typically resolved after the surgery.
- Complications such as variceal bleeding, encephalopathy, and hepatorenal syndrome are usually resolved after a successful transplantation.
- Pruritis, which may be associated with cirrhosis, is typically cleared up post-surgery.
- Survival
- In cases in which transplantation is indicated for a patient with cirrhosis, transplantation can have a significant effect on the long term survival of the patient.
- The overall survival rates of patients have demonstrated a significant increase in patients post transplantation. The overall survival rate at 1 year post surgery is 87%, at 5 years post surgery is 80%, and at 10 years post surgery is 67%.[4]
TIPS (Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt)
- A transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, also TIPS, is an artificial channel in the liver from the portal vein to a hepatic vein (for blood). It is created endovascularly via the jugular vein.
- The main purpose of the TIPS procedure is to decompress the portal vein which would in turn help to prevent rebleeding from varices, and also prevent ascites formation.[5]
- Indications
- TIPS is used to treat portal hypertension which is often due to cirrhosis.
- The scar tissue in the liver due to cirrhosis causes blockages in the portal vein, leading to portal vein hypertension.
- Due to the increased pressure in the portal vein, veins that are bypassing the liver may rupture. The possibility of rupture makes a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt a beneficial procedure.
- Contraindications
- Some of the absolute contraindications to the TIPS procedure include congestive heart failure, uncontrolled sepsis, uncontrolled systemic infection, unrelieved biliary obstruction, multiple hepatic cysts, and severe pulmonary hypertension.[5]
- Some of the relative contraindications include hepatoma, severe coagulopathy, portal vein thrombosis, blockage of all the hepatic veins, moderate pulmonary hypertension, and thrombocytopenia.[5]
- Survival
- TIPS procedure appears to be a safe option for people with portal hypertension due to cirrhosis. The TIPS procedure has a 30-day mortality rate of 45% for people that need an emergency portacaval shunt.[6]
- The mortality rate due to the TIPS procedure itself is less than 2%.
- Some of the causes of death associated with TIPS include myocardial infarctions during the procedure as well as an intraperitoneal hemorrhage due to a rupture or puncture of the portal vein.[6]
- Complications
- Complications of TIPS include puncture and dilation of the portal vein, hematoma at the puncture site and thrombosis of the stent that is placed in the hepatic vein during the procedure.[6]
- It is typically more difficult to perform the transplantation after a patient has already undergone the TIPS procedure. Inserting a shunt into the liver needs to be exceedingly precise in patients that have the possibility of obtaining a new liver. In transplant cases, patient and graft survival is worse in individuals that previously had a shunt placed in the hepatic vein.[5]
- Drawbacks
- Two of the major drawbacks that may be present with the TIPS procedure are stent dysfunction and portosystemic encephalopathy.[7]
- There also may be a frequent need for endovascluar reintervention to make sure that the stent remains patent.[7]
References
- ↑ liver transplant outlook and survival rates
- ↑ Cosby RL, Yee B, Schrier RW (1989). "New classification with prognostic value in cirrhotic patients". Mineral and electrolyte metabolism. 15 (5): 261–6. PMID 2682175.
- ↑ Lee J, Belanger A, Doucette JT, Stanca C, Friedman S, Bach N (2007). "Transplantation trends in primary biliary cirrhosis". Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology : the Official Clinical Practice Journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. 5 (11): 1313–5. doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2007.07.015. PMID 17900996. Retrieved 2012-09-06. Unknown parameter
|month=ignored (help) - ↑ Liermann Garcia RF, Evangelista Garcia C, McMaster P, Neuberger J (2001). "Transplantation for primary biliary cirrhosis: retrospective analysis of 400 patients in a single center". Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.). 33 (1): 22–7. doi:10.1053/jhep.2001.20894. PMID 11124816. Retrieved 2012-09-06. Unknown parameter
|month=ignored (help) - ↑ Jump up to: 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Boyer TD, Haskal ZJ (2005). "The role of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt in the management of portal hypertension". Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.). 41 (2): 386–400. doi:10.1002/hep.20559. PMID 15660434. Retrieved 2012-09-06. Unknown parameter
|month=ignored (help) - ↑ Jump up to: 6.0 6.1 6.2 Freedman AM, Sanyal AJ, Tisnado J, Cole PE, Shiffman ML, Luketic VA, Purdum PP, Darcy MD, Posner MP (1993). "Complications of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt: a comprehensive review". Radiographics : a Review Publication of the Radiological Society of North America, Inc. 13 (6): 1185–210. PMID 8290720. Retrieved 2012-09-06. Unknown parameter
|month=ignored (help) - ↑ Jump up to: 7.0 7.1 Colombato L (2007). "The role of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in the management of portal hypertension". Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology. 41 Suppl 3: S344–51. doi:10.1097/MCG.0b013e318157e500. PMID 17975487. Retrieved 2012-09-06.