Prognosis | Liver Transplantation

Prognosis

After successful surgery, it must be waited to see whether the body accepts the donor organ or recognizes it as foreign and rejects it. The average length of stay in the acute facilities after a liver transplantation is about 1 month. In order to prevent rejection of the newly transplanted liver, an immunosuppressive therapy is necessary, which means that the body’s own immune system is suppressed with medication to give the body time to get used to the new liver.

Even after successful transplantation, a lifelong immunosuppressive therapy is necessary. Survival times after liver transplantation are constantly increasing. While about 70% of liver transplant patients were still alive in the early 1980s, today the figure is over 90%. And even after 5 years, the survival rate is still about 75%, although this is strongly dependent on other diseases of the patient besides liver disease and the cooperation and adherence to the strict therapy regimen.

How long does the entire healing process take?

The patient spends the first days after the procedure in the intensive care unit. Often the patient can get up again after 3 to 5 days. Early mobilization is good for the patient.

After observation in the intensive care unit, the patient stays in the normal ward for one to two weeks. This is usually followed by a stay in a rehabilitation clinic. Immunosuppressive drugs are taken to prevent the immune system from attacking the new organ.

In the first weeks and months after the operation, the liver is closely examined. Finally, the new liver should start its tasks and functions in the first months after the transplantation. The duration of the total recovery is several months and depends on the patient’s condition and concomitant diseases.

What is the life expectancy with a liver transplantation?

Most patients who survive the operation and the months following it well, without rejection or uncontrollable infections, achieve complete rehabilitation. Studies have shown that approximately 85% of liver transplant survivors can be well reintegrated into the daily routine. In addition, numerous cases have already been documented in which women have become pregnant after a successful liver transplantation and have given birth to a healthy child on schedule.