Liver Disease Treatments and Procedures

Treatments and services for liver disease include:

• Assessment, treatment and management for liver disease and acute liver injury.
• Treatment and management of chronic viral hepatitis, alcohol-related liver disease, and acute liver injury.
• Diagnosis and treatment for people with complex liver disease, including: management of intractable ascites, recurrent variceal hemorrhage, hepatic encephalopathy and hepatocellular carcinoma.
• Transhepatic intravascular portosystemic shunt (TIPSS), performed by interventional radiologists for complications of portal hypertension.

Liver Transplant

Patients with end-stage liver disease are referred to the Penn Transplant Institute for liver transplant evaluation. Each year, more than 400 patients are evaluated and Penn surgeons perform more than 140 liver transplants, making it the largest liver transplant program in the Philadelphia region and one of the top 10 programs in the nation. The success rates for liver transplantation at Penn greatly exceed the national averages.

Diagnosis and Management of Liver Transplant Patients

Patients with end-stage liver disease undergo an extensive medical evaluation before being listed for a liver transplantation. During this process, all factors related to the condition, nature and severity of the liver disease are considered. A team of physicians collaborate to assess the unique circumstances of each patient to be approved for final listing.

Liver Disease Research

Our physicians are at the forefront of clinical research for the treatment of liver disease. Studies include:

• Use of new medical therapies for chronic hepatitis B and C
• New methods of immunosuppressive therapy
• Combination therapy for liver tumors, including surgical resection, transplantation, chemotherapy and chemoembolization
• Living related-donor program in collaboration with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia