Liver Transplant: What to Expect at Home (2024)

FAQs

Do you need home care after liver transplant? ›

Help at Home After Liver Transplant Surgery

You must have a caregiver with you 24 hours a day for at least 6 weeks after you leave the hospital. Being a caregiver is a big responsibility. You may need more than one person to help you for the first few months after your liver transplant.

Your belly and side will be sore for the first 1 to 2 weeks after surgery. You also may have some numbness around the cut (incision) the doctor made. It is common to feel tired while you are healing. It may take 2 to 4 months for your energy to fully return.

The risk of organ rejection is highest 3 to 6 months after receiving a new liver. If your body is rejecting its new liver, you might notice symptoms like: Feeling tired. Pain or tenderness in your abdomen.

It's important to be as fit as possible before your liver transplant. Moderate exercise can help boost your energy levels and will lower stress. This could be walking, cycling, swimming, gentle jogging or something else you prefer. Speak to your liver care team about the right exercise plan for you.

You can expect to be in hospital for 7-14 days after a liver transplant. The first few days are spent in the intensive care unit to allow the extensive monitoring that is required. If you are recovering well from the surgery, the transplant team will be happy for you to be discharged home.

During the first six weeks after liver transplantation, patients will have frequent blood tests and other exams to monitor liver function and detect any evidence of rejection or infection in the new liver. Longer term patients are asked to return for check-ups about once or twice a year.

Avoid too much sugar, saturated fats and salt. A low sugar diet is particularly important for managing diabetes. A diet low in saturated fat will help to keep your cholesterol levels controlled. You will be given information on your diet from your transplant team.

If your recovery is going well, after 8 weeks, you will usually be encouraged to start moderate exercise. This could be walking, jogging, swimming or cycling. Most sports and activities are possible but you should avoid heavy contact sports (rugby, martial arts, boxing) as these risk damaging your liver transplant.

There is pain after liver transplant surgery, however it is generally not as severe as with other abdominal surgeries. This is because nerves are severed during the initial abdominal incision causing numbness of the skin around the abdomen. These nerves regenerate over the following six months and sensation returns.

While waiting on the list patients are advised to stay as healthy as possible by eating a healthy balanced diet, taking regular exercise, completely avoiding alcohol, not smoking etc. An average waiting time for a liver transplant is 149 days for adults and 86 days for children.

How to care for a liver transplant patient? ›

Maintain general health through proper nutrition, rest, exercise, and stress reduction. Avoid people who have infectious diseases especially people with active viral infections, such as chicken pox, mumps, measles, mononucleosis, tuberculosis, colds, or the flu. Take medications to prevent infection, as prescribed.

Eating lean meats, poultry and fish. Eating whole-grain breads and cereals and other grains. Having enough fiber in your daily diet. Drinking low-fat milk or eating other low-fat dairy products, to help maintain enough calcium.

The average hospital stay for a donor and transplant recipient is about a week. Recovery at home for a transplant recipient will continue for several months and you'll need a caregiver present 24/7 at the beginning of this recovery.

In patients awaiting liver transplant, TIPS placement can be an option to manage complications associated with portal hypertension, in order to reduce morbidity and mortality.

The operation time varies depending on complexity of the procedure. It is often between 5-8 hours. After you have been put to sleep under anaesthetic, the surgery will begin. Your damaged liver will be removed and the donor liver will be transplanted into its place.

Sometimes a healthy living person will donate part of their liver. A living donor may be a family member. Or it may be someone who isn't related to you but whose blood type is a good match. People who donate part of their liver can have healthy lives with the liver that is left.

In general, your diet after liver transplant should be low in salt, cholesterol, fat and sugar. To prevent damaging your new liver, it's important to avoid alcohol. Do not drink alcoholic beverages or use alcohol in cooking.

Here they are kept under observation to check for any signs of bleeding, infection or other complications. Most donors are able to get out of bed and start moving within first 2 days days with the help of physiotherapy. Initially, patients need to follow a liquid diet followed by a normal diet in 2 - 5 days.

Liver Transplant Recovery Times

In two months: You may lift up to 15 pounds. In three months: You may begin jogging. In three to six months: Your liver incisions have healed. You may also go back to work.