Liver Transplant
Alternate Names : Hepatic Transplant, Transplantation of the Liver
What happens right after the procedure?
The liver transplant recipient will usually be in the hospital between 7 and 21 days. The person will probably be on a ventilator, or artificial breathing machine, for a day or two. On the second or third day, the person may be well enough to move out of the intensive care unit. Immunosuppressant medications are given right before or during the surgery. Blood tests will be done in the first few weeks after transplantation to be sure that the correct dosage of the medication is being given. The recipient will continue to take these medications for the rest of his life.
Before leaving the hospital, the person will be given instructions including:
how to care for the transplant
how to take the medications
what side effects to expect
how to take care of the surgical scar
early signs and symptoms of rejection of the liver
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