Dr. Pathik Parikh Hepatologist and Liver Transplant Physician

  Complications of Liver Cirrhosis Liver Cirrhosis means permanent irreversible damage to most of the liver. The complications develop when more than 80% of functioning parenchyma is lost. As liver has more than 500 functions, the complications are not limited to one or two systems but has systemic effects. Complications of Liver Cirrhosis should be managed in a tertiary care setup where multiple specialists are available round the clock. We describe complications of liver cirrhosis for all patients to comprehend in simple language.   best liver cancer doctors in ahmedabad 1. Ascites – Fluid accumulation in the tummy This is a common feature of cirrhosis.It is an accumulation of excessive fluid within the peritoneal cavity due to the increased plasma volume ‘spilling over’ into the abdominal cavity. This isusually accompanied by swelling of the feet (Edema). Whenever you develop fluid in your tummy for the first time, you need a needle aspiration and testing. You also need to ...

Successful Management of Anti Tuberculosis Therapy induced liver failure by Liver Team 50 year old female during routine follow up was diagnosed to have mild pericardial effusion. She was started empirically on 4 drugs anti tuberculosis therapy (ATT). She tolerated the therapy well and on completion of intensive phase her pericardial effusion disappeared. She was maintained on isoniazid, rifampicin and ethambutol therapy. 4 months after starting ATT, she noticed jaundice and consulted her physician who stopped ATT and started her on Ursodeoxycholic acid. However, her jaundice worsened and that is when she presented to Zydus Hospitals. At the first visit she had full blown liver failure. Her reports showed a bilirubin of 14 mg/dl, AST 157 IU/ml, ALT 90 IU/ml, Albumin 2.9 mg/dl and a International Normalized Ratio (PT-INR) of 7.1. Her ultrasound showed mild ascites and hypo echoic liver. She had over encephalopathy with flaps on examination. She was counseled about the need for l...

The answer is yes and no. It indeed is a liver problem and it indicated that there is fat accumulated in your liver. However, it is not just a  liver problem  and it is one of the manifestations of a complete metabolic problem. Liver is a store house. Whatever we eat, the excess amount is converted to fat and is stored in the liver. If on a daily basis, we have a positive balance between calories we eat and calories we burn, the difference is converted to fat and stored in the liver. Over a period of time the fat accumulated to such a great extent that it starts damaging your liver cells and they start dying. This is the time when your liver function tests start becoming abnormal. If no corrective action is taken at that moment, the liver tries healing itself with abnormal fibrosis and eventually it becomes cirrhosis. Once cirrhosis happens, it is irreversible and can then lead to all complications like blood in vomit, blood in stools, abnormal behavior, fluid accumula...

Liver  as you all know it, is not only the second largest organ of the body after skin, but also a major organ for metabolizing. Whatever we eat goes to liver before reaching anywhere else in the body. The liver stores the excess energy as fat and condensed glucose known as glycogen. So whenever we eat excessively, the energy is stored in liver as fat. If we continue to do so for months and years together, the liver starts accumulating fat and enlarges in size. A point comes when liver no longer can take it and starts undergoing destruction. What is Fatty Liver? Whenever the fat accumulation in liver crosses 5% of liver weight it is known as fatty liver. Though in last century alcohol was believed to be the major cause of fatty liver, the diet and lifestyle is rapidly becoming the major cause of fatty liver now. The disease is known as non alcoholic fatty liver disease or NAFLD. Once it starts destroying liver it is called as steatohepatitis or NASH. Who is likely to ha...

Blood in stools is a common symptom. Many of the individuals face it once in a while. But if it is a recurrent symptom, Ulcerative colitis is a  disease  that needs to be ruled out. Intestine is divided into two main parts- small and large. Large intestine is the last one metre of the intestine which helps not only in forming stools but also storing it till the time we evacuate during our routine defecation. What is Ulcerative Colitis? It is a type of disease where the last part of our intestine gets damaged by our own immune cells and is a type of Inflammatory Bowel Disease or in common terms, IBD. The other types of IBD are Crohn’s Disease and Microscopic Colitis. In ulcerative colitis, the lining of the large intestine gets damaged and ulcerated. Once it gets ulcerated it starts oozing blood. Who is likely to have it? Ulcerative colitis is common among young individuals of both the sexes, though, no age is protected from it. The exact cause of ulcerative colitis...