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.
Most patients can return to a normal or near-normal activity and participate in fairly vigorous exercise six to 12 months after successful liver transplant surgery. Often, we let patients return to work and drive as little as two to three months after liver transplantation.
Alcohol and Other Toxins
The transplantation team recommends that recipients avoid overuse of alcoholic beverages after transplantation. Patients who have used alcohol or abused other chemicals, such as illegal drugs, since their transplant, should contact a coordinator or substance abuse counselor for help.
You will not be able to drive for 6-8 weeks after your liver transplant, so your caregiver will need to bring you to all follow-up appointments.
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.
The duration of liver transplant surgery depends on how complex your case is. On average, the surgery can take between 6-12 hours.
Very common longer-term risks
The most common infections are chest or urine infections. These are usually fairly straightforward to treat with antibiotic tablets. Infections inside the liver transplant itself can be harder to treat.
This informal policy, often called "the 6-month rule," can be traced to the 1980s. The thinking was that six months of abstinence gave a patient's liver time to heal and, thus, avoid a transplant. If that didn't work, the patient would have proven they can stay sober and would not return to drinking after a transplant.
Liver: Though liver transplant patients are likely to see some weight loss initially, weight gains can start around four months after surgery. Patients are told to eat to help with the healing process, and some even need to gain weight and muscle mass lost prior to 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.
Excessive brain swelling, or severe infection are signs that a patient may not be able to withstand a liver transplant.
You will be kept on a breathing machine (ventilator) for a day or so and will be followed very closely by the staff there. The average length of stay in the ICU is two days, after which you will be transferred to the medical floor/ transplant unit.
The main purpose of ICU management after liver transplantation is, besides the general management that is applied after all major abdominal surgery, the prevention or early detection of hepatic complications and the problems related to immunosuppression.
Avoid foods that include raw or undercooked eggs, such as Caesar salad, Hollandaise sauce, some custards, and chocolate mousse. Do not eat soft cheeses, and discard moldy foods.
Balanced diet
Base meals on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates. Choose wholegrain, brown or wholemeal instead of refined or white carbohydrates. Eat at least five portions of fruit and / or vegetables per day.
Patients who have had transplants experience weakened immune systems and need to protect themselves from all infections. Foodborne illnesses, sometimes called food poisoning, can be caused by raw or undercooked foods and are a real threat to transplant recipients.
On analysis of seven studies, pooled prevalence of self-reported alcohol relapse was 26.3% (18.0–36.7%) over median (range) follow-up of 6.0 (3.7–8.3) years, with annual alcohol relapse rate of 4.7% (3.0–6.4%) for any alcohol use and 2.9% (0.5–5.3%) for heavy alcohol use.
It's true that taking a break from alcohol for any amount of time will be beneficial overall, with some research showing that liver function begins to improve in as little as two to three weeks. But a full detox is needed for the most benefit, and how much time that takes depends on a variety of personal factors.
INTRODUCTION. Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is a common indication for liver transplantation (LT) (Singal et al., 2013b). Most transplant centers require minimum 6 months of abstinence prior to evaluating for LT. About 10–60% of transplant recipients for ALD use alcohol after LT (Singal et al., 2013a).
Overall, infections are the most frequent cause of mortality in males and females, though they are significantly higher in females. In our cohort, the main causes of mortality within the first year after transplantation were infections and surgical complications in both sexes.
Liver failure
There is a risk that your remaining liver doesn't work after your operation. This is a rare but serious complication and can be life threatening.
University of Florida Health is home to the liver transplant program with the highest one-year liver graft survival in the United States, according to a report released this month by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. At 98.97%, the program's success rate outstrips the national survival rate of 91.89%.