A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A HEPATOLOGIST

The day begins early with a conference where the team evaluates the X-rays of many patients, identifying those who might benefit from a clinical trial or liver transplant. Patients are referred to the UH program from throughout the state. The team checks on Dagoberto Alvarado,(a patient) now three days post-transplant. Improved, hell soon be heading home. Patients can wait for months on the transplant list or in the case of Alvarado, be fortunate enough to secure a liver within a few weeks. The team checks on Dagoberto Alvarado, now three days post-transplant. Dramatically improved, hell soon be heading home. Patients can wait for months on the transplant list or in the case of Alvarado, be fortunate enough to secure a liver within a few weeks. He might not have made it otherwise, says his wife. The length of time a patient spends on the waiting list depends on many factors, among them the severity of their illness and the availability of donated organs He might not have made it otherwise, says his wife. The length of time a patient spends on the waiting list depends on many ways, among them the severity of their illness and the availability of donated organs. We go over patients who need help in our case with the liver. If there is availability of donated organs; it might just save a life. Donated organs are of those who after they pass, they donate their organs in those who need them the most. We the Hepatologists will secure them and replace their old unhealthy ones into healthy ones donated from a fellow citizen. Transplanting an organ is not unlike staging a large, complex opera. There is so much drama some of it life and death. The starring players physicians, patients, nurses and myriad support staff often face obstacles and conflict. Theres the quest for a holy grail in this case, a healthy liver. Patients are first examined to determine whether they are transplant candidates. The wait for a liver can be days, weeks, or months. Its part of the drama. When the call finally comes that a liver is available, the patient and the team are ready. And in the best-case scenario, there is a happy ending. The workup includes evaluation by transplant hepatologists and surgeons, cardiologists, social workers and dietitians. A psychiatric workup includes support for patients and evaluation for drug and alcohol abuse both primary factors in hepatitis C infection. Transplant candidates with alcohol or drug-related illness must agree to give up these substances completely. Their names will not go on the waiting list until they complete six months of sobriety. Those who are accepted into the program go on a national waiting list until a liver becomes available. Statistical formulas are used to predict which patients are in the greatest need of a new liver and they are placed higher on the list. Patients placement on the list changes as their health status changes