Although the liver is able to regenerate and heal itself in the case of minor to moderate damage, severe injury to the liver can cause it to fail. If this occurs, the only effective treatment is a liver transplant. Organ transplantation is a risky operation that carries with it the risk of many serious complications.
Infection
Liver transplant surgery is an invasive operation, which means that there is a chance that the surgical site can become infected. Compounded with this risk is the weakening of the immune system that occurs with this operation. Patients who receive a liver transplant must take medications that suppress their immune systems, the University of Illinois Medical Center explains. Because these medications weaken the body's immune system, patients are more susceptible to infections, not just from the surgical site, but throughout their entire bodies.
Rejection
Transplanted livers are foreign to the body, which means that the body can recognize the liver as not being a normal organ. This can lead to the recipient's immune system attacking the liver, a process known as rejection. Rejection of a transplanted liver occurs most frequently six months after the operation, the Cincinnati Children's Hospital explains. The risk of rejection can be minimized by using a donor liver that is matched to be more similar to normal tissue in the recipient's body and through the use of immunosuppressant medications.
Bleeding Problems
Liver transplants can also result in internal bleeding because the liver has a large amount of blood flow. During the surgery the blood vessels that carry blood to the liver are severed and closed off and then reattached to the liver. During this process, massive loss of blood can occur. Alternatively, blood clots can develop in these blood vessels, MayoClinic.com notes, which can prevent blood from flowing to the transplanted liver. In severe cases, these blood clots can travel throughout the body and block other, smaller arteries, including the one that provides blood to the heart and brain.
Liver Failure
In some cases the transplanted liver will not work properly. Livers that are to be transplanted are packed in ice and carefully stored to keep them viable. In some cases, however, the liver will not function properly after the transplant. This requires an immediate re-transplant of the liver as the original transplant will have no function. In addition, sometimes children who receive a liver transplant develop problems with the bile ducts, resulting in the accumulation of bile acid in the liver. This can damage the liver and also result in extreme pain.
