Cirrhosis is when the liver is damaged beyond repair.
In India the common causes of cirrhosis in adults are: hepatitis B, hepatitis C, Alcohol and NASH.
They can present with jaundice, fatigue, blood vomiting , fluid in the abdomen ( ascites) and some other symptoms.
Once the disease has progressed, there is no cure except transplantation. Early liver cancers in cirrhotics are also indications for transplantation. This operation is a complex one with a success rate of 70 to 90%.
In the operation the damaged liver is removed and a new whole liver is put back from a brain dead patient.
Usually the brain dead patients are victims of road accident, whose brain have stopped working permanently . There are multiple tests to confirm irreversible brain death and a committee of doctors unrelated to the transplant team confirms this. After government scrutiny and authorization and with the consent of the family the healthy organs are taken out to give a new lease of life to many patients. Organs like liver, heart, lungs, pancreas, intestine, kidneys, eyes can be transplanted this way.
Another type of liver transplantation is where a relative of the patient donates a portion of the liver to the patient. Here the donor carries the risk of a major liver surgery. As a result only the most healthy people are considered for donation.
It’s always better to prevent the disease from happening than to treat it.
Hepatitis B can be prevented by a vaccine in the childhood.
Avoid using shared syringes, unprotected sex with multiple partners to prevent the hepatitis virus transmission.
If you are detected to have fatty liver on ultrasound, try reducing weight, keep your blood sugar under control if you are a diabetic. Don’t eat processed food, try to cook meals from locally available ingredients. Do daily exercise.
Stop alcohol if you are taking it, take help of deaddiction services if you are unable to quit on your own.