Dr. Pathik Parikh Hepatologist and Liver Transplant Physician

  How to treat alcohol associated liver disease Treatment of alcohol related liver disease encompasses multiple steps. Just asking to stop alcohol is not enough. Here are the things which we need to look at while dealing with alcohol related liver disease Abstinence Counselling Alcohol withdrawal Alcohol Craving Alcohol associated fatty liver and hepatitis Fibrosis and Cirrhosis – Complication of cirrhosis Liver Transplant General Measures Alcohol abstinence is the cornerstone of therapy Early management of Alcohol dependence is recommended in all patients Considering the potential risk of Wernicke’s encephalopathy supplementation with B-complex vitamins is recommended Behavioural Treatment Cognitive behavioural Therapy Motivational enhancement Contingency management Nutritional Therapy High protein diet – Do not restrict proteins High calorie diet – Can eat routine home-made foods including roti, sabzi, dal and rice Can have milk and milk products – add protein powder to it Low sa...

  Upper GI Bleed – Blood Vomitus or Black Stools Cirrhosis is diffuse permanent damage to the liver. Once somebody develops cirrhosis, they are likely to face some or the other complications in upcoming 3-5 years. It is good to keep oneself aware about possible complications. One of the complications is gastrointestinal bleeding. Hematemesis means vomiting of blood. Whenever a person has blood in his vomit, we call it as hematemesis. It is major and life-threatening complication of cirrhosis of the liver. Reason for Blood in Vomit in cirrhosis Esophageal Varices Gastric Varices Under normal circumstances, the blood that flows from spleen and the intestines enters a vessel known as portal vein and it in turn enters the liver for filtration. The blood from the liver enters the hepatic veins and from where it enters the heart and goes into the systemic circulation. However, when there is cirrhosis of the liver, this liver does not allow the blood to pass smoothly and it provides a res...

  Autoimmune Hepatitis   What is autoimmune hepatitis? Autoimmune hepatitis is a condition in which your own white blood cells attack the liver and damage it. Under normal circumstances, white cells in our body protect us against invasion of foreign substances.  Sometimes, these white cells fail to identify liver as our own and they start damaging it. Liver Problems Doctors in Ahmedabad   What causes Autoimmune hepatitis? The exact reason why these self protective cells turn against our liver is not known. However, it is believed to have environmental and genetic role. Some environmental agents alter the liver cells (known as hepatocytes) and lead to stimulation of immune system What will happen if I develop autoimmune hepatitis? Autoimmune Hepatitis also known as AIH will start scarring your liver and over a period of time it will permanently damage your liver. This is known as cirrhosis. Once cirrhosis develops, there would complications of cirrhosis – Bleeding, ja...

  Dr. Pathik Parikh Consultant Hepatologist & Liver Transplant Physician MD.DM Gold Medalist Fellowship in Hepatology & Liver Transplant (U.K.) Fellowship in Liver Intensive Care (U.K.) Dr. Pathik Parikh  is the only hepatologist in gujarat to be trained Mumbai (India), London (UK), Florida (US) and Osaka (Japan) He is the first and the only doctor to be awarded combined INASL-JSH fellowship for hepatologist Make An Appointment : Zydus Hospitals Road, Nr. Sola Bridge, S.G. Highway, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380054 Contact :  +91 86521 19730 Website :  https://www.drpathikparikh.com/

Liver Transplant after cirrhosis – When is the right time? Cirrhosis is end stage damage to liver. It means from the soft smooth liver like a sponge, it has become hard and irregular like a bark of a tree. Once an individual develops cirrhosis of liver, the process is irreversible. The disease progresses gradually over a period. Initially if we find the cause of cirrhosis, we can treat and stabilize the liver for a prolonged period. Eventually however, different complications set in. Initially these complications are manageable with medications and dietary restrictions. However, as the disease worsens, complications persist or recur and that is when doctors’advice you to undergo liver transplant. Most common causes of cirrhosis in adults in India 1.  Alcohol 2. Fatty Liver 3. Hepatitis B 4. Hepatitis C 5. Drug Induced Liver Injury 6. Autoimmune Hepatitis 7. Wilson’s Disease The treating#Hepatologist will look for these causes once you are diagnosed with cirrhosis. For Alcohol relat...

  Kidneys in liver cirrhosis – Hepatorenal Syndrome What are different complications of cirrhosis? Liver Cirrhosis progresses to develop many complications.  It is prudent to be aware of the complications of liver cirrhosis, so that it can be picked up early and treated timely. Some of these are often ignored for long time before they become life threatening. The table shows different complications of liver cirrhosis. Blood Vomitus Swelling of feet Poor memory Black Stools Fluid in chest Altered behaviour (Brain Involvement) Blood in stools Ascites – Fluid in abdomen Hypoxia (Lung Involvement) Nasal Bleeding Jaundice Low BP (Heart Involvement) Increased bleeding tendency Loss of muscle mass Low Urine (kidney Involvement) Darkening of skin Bone weakness (Osteoporosis) Loss of sexual hair (Gonad involvement)   Usually, the initial complications are fluid collection and bleeding. Renal involvement is a sign of very advanced disease. Kidney involvement presents as hepatorenal...

All patients who are  suffering from liver disease  and need a transplant are currently in dilemma on when and how the transplant would proceed. Even doctors are in dilemma on whether they should divert the healthcare staff and infrastructure to transplant when we have a great pandemic going on. To answer these queries, the American, European, Asian and Indian societies have drawn out guidelines for doctors to help in decision making. Should we as healthcare providers decide on who is more in need of limited resources, i.e., COVID-19 patients versus patients in  urgent need of liver transplantation?  It is impossible to weigh the value of the life of a patient with COVID-19 against that of a patient in need of life-saving liver transplantation. We should not compound the pandemic by risking the lives of patients in need of liver transplantation and our goal should be to ensure that an ICU bed is available for every patient who requires one. All centers offeri...

Millions of people buy new cars regularly in the United States. With so many companies regularly launching new models that continue to amaze humans, the sale of cars goes on incessantly. And buying car insurance is mandatory which in turn leads to a high sale of car insurance, nationwide. And given the demand for car insurance, you would expect the sellers and agents to have a good time by getting ample leads and converting them to sales. But nothing in this world comes easy. Does it? The agents and brokers often suffer from the lack of   genuine car insurance lead   in spite of all the demand in the market. This again has various reasons and the agents or brokers can’t be blamed. There are too many sellers in the market with multinational corporations as well with a lot of resources at their disposal. They are able to get most of the leads and convert them leaving behind very few leads for the other agents and brokers. Another reason why these agents and brokers...

Water gets accumulated in your tummy (abdomen) as a part of a disease. It is known medically as Ascites. Most common reason for ascites is Liver Disease. Although, local disease of tummy (Peritoneum), Kidney, Heart can cause water accumulation in your tummy, by far the most important reason is Liver. If there is water in your tummy there is 85% chance that you have Liver Disease. What causes Ascites? There are many causes, but the most common are mentioned here Liver Disease, Cirrhosis, Liver Cancer, Liver Failure Cancer Malignancy Kidney Disease Heart Disease Infections Tuberculosis What are the symptoms of Ascites? As the fluid gets collected very gradually, you may realize it only after weeks that you are having symptoms of Ascites Heaviness of stomach Distension of stomach Bloating Appetite getting lower (Tummy feel full all the time) Breathlessness Swelling of feet may accompany How can we diagnose Ascites? Ultrasound – Even before you realize it, a ...

Not all causes of  jaundice  are same! Jaundice means yellow discoloration of eyes/sclera and urine. It is caused by a substance known as bilirubin. It is common misconception that all causes of jaundice behave similarly and can be treated by rest and restriction of diet. Today, we would understand what jaundice is and will break the above myth. Jaundice is visible whenever the blood level of a substance called bilirubin increases. It is not visible to us till the blood level rises above 3 mg/dl. Whenever, the red blood cells get destroyed, they release this bilirubin, which is taken up by liver and after detoxification released in bile. So any disease which can cause increased damage of red blood cells, damage liver or obstruct the outflow of bile will lead to jaundice. The jaundice caused by these three types of diseases are different in the aspects of their liver tests and ultrasound reports with the help of which your doctor identifies the exact cause of jaundice. ...