The liver is a vital organ needed to digest food, absorb nutrients and clear the body of waste. Many diseases and conditions can damage the liver without causing symptoms for decades, according to "The Merck Manual." End-stage liver disease, the result of permanent scarring and damage, is treated with supportive measures until the patient receives a transplant or dies. While waiting for a transplant, many patients experience complications related to liver failure, liver cancer or high blood pressure in the portal vein through which blood flows from the bowel to the liver. As the liver fails, the symptoms become more severe and life-threatening.
Liver Failure
Liver failure is a life-threatening condition that can develop over a period of years, though it can also occur suddenly as a result of poisoning or a drug overdose, according to the American Liver Foundation. Symptoms begin with nausea, fatigue, diarrhea or loss of appetite. As the condition gets worse, the patient becomes sleepy, disoriented and confused. If not treated immediately, the result is likely to be coma and death. If the remaining portion of the liver is not viable, the patient will die unless he receives a liver transplant.
Ascites
Patients with chronic or long-term cirrhosis of the liver can accumulate large amounts of fluid in the abdomen, making it difficult to eat or to breathe easily, according to "The Merck Manual." Treatment with bed rest, a low sodium diet and diuretics---medications that increase urine flow---may be effective. More invasive therapy includes draining fluid through a needle and administering intravenous albumin---the primary protein in plasma---is sometimes needed. In some cases, the fluid can become infected and must be treated aggressively with antibiotics.
Abnormal Bleeding
Portal hypertension can cause abnormal bleeding in the stomach or esophagus. Cirrhosis or scarring of the liver causes increased pressure on the circulatory system and new veins, called collateral vessels, develop in the upper part of the stomach and the lower part of the esophagus, according to "The Merck Manual." These veins bypass the liver, so toxins that are normally filtered through the liver pass into the bloodstream. They are fragile and bleed easily, sometimes causing hemorrhage and death.
Liver Cancer
The risk of liver cancer is higher in patients with cirrhosis or scarring of the liver, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, diabetes and obesity, according to the American Liver Foundation. Liver cancer may cause no symptoms until the condition is advanced. If symptoms are present, they may include nausea, loss of appetite, feeling full after a small meal, weight loss, fever, weakness, pain in the abdomen or back and shoulder, fatigue, bloating or jaundice. The rate of surviving liver cancer for five years is about 10 percent, notes the American Cancer Society, probably because the patients usually have other potentially fatal liver conditions as well as the cancer.
References
- "The Merck Manual;" Mark H. Beers, M.D., ed.; 2006
- American Liver Foundation: Liver Cancer
- American Cancer Society: Liver Cancer Survival Rates
- American Liver Foundation: The Progression of Liver Disease
