What is cirrhosis of liver :
It is a diffuse process with fibrosis and nodule formation. The smooth & soft liver is changed to firm or hard shrunken liver with micro or macro nodular appearance. The functional capacity also reduces.
What are its common causes.
Chronic hepatitis May be viral or non viral causes. Chronic Hepatitis B & Hepatitis C viral infection are the main causes.
Alcoholic Hepatitis, drug induced Hepatitis are the common non viral Hepatitis.
Metabolic disorder like Haemachromatosis due to excess iron absorption.
Familial disease.
Wilson`s disease due to altered copper metabolism.
Any chronic hepatitis state may change to cirrhosis of liver.
Symptoms.
In early or compensatory cirrhosis.
Most of the time remain asymptomatic.
Loss of appetite, anorexia, low grade fever.
In advanced or decompnsatory cirrhosis.
Ascites – Accumulation of fluid in the abdomen.
Oesophageal Varices : enlarged tortuous vein in the gullet, which may bleed at any time.
Jaundice – Usually mild and persistent.
Encephalopathy : impaired mental function due to toxic effect of waste product, which are normally destroyed by the healthy liver. The waste products affect the brain. The patient may loss consciousness.
Increased bleeding tendency from tooth, nose, mouth, anus and skin (Bruising).
Liver cancer – may develop in some cases of cirrhosis.
Some advise :
You must have to take adequate balanced diet & fluid.
Alcohol should be avoided.
Portal hypertension & its manifestation like ascites, esophageal varices & encephalopathy may need medical, interventional & surgical management.
You must consult hepatologist for early detection of liver cancer. It may need liver surgery or other treatments.
End stage liver disease may need liver transplantation (replacement of diseased liver with donated liver or its part).
Remember: The causes of cirrhosis are many, the end result is the same. You may need multidisciplinary management strategies.
