What is Liver Cirrhosis – What kind of disease is it?
First of all, it may be more understandable if we talk about what the word cirrhosis means. Cirrhosis comes from the ancient Greek word scirrhus. In other words, it was used to describe the orange peel appearance seen in liver autopsies. It is the last stage of a complex process that occurs due to damage to liver cells. It is a chronic, that is, long-term, progressive disease characterized by the loss of normal liver tissue, the increase in connective tissue instead, which causes the liver to shrink and harden, the formation of a type of round lumps called regeneration nodules, and the deterioration of the vascular structure of the liver.
What are the causes of cirrhosis?
While the most common cause in Western countries is alcohol, in Turkey the most common causes are hepatitis B, hepatitis C and alcohol, respectively. Apart from these, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, diseases caused by the body recognizing its own liver cells and bile ducts as foreign and damaging them, and some congenital metabolic diseases can be listed. In this group of diseases, we can count rare diseases caused by excessive iron accumulation or copper accumulation in the liver. Sometimes long-term right heart failure and some heart valve diseases can also cause cirrhosis. Apart from all these, there is also a group of patients in whom we have investigated everything but could not find anything, and which we call cryptogenic, meaning the cause is unknown.
What are the Symptoms of Cirrhosis? What kind of complaints should a person suspect of cirrhosis and consult a doctor?
There is a wide spectrum, from complaints that are very common and felt by almost everyone from time to time, to those that are more specific to the disease. Weakness, fatigue, muscle weakness and cramps, mild and unexplained fever, loss of appetite, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, itching, jaundice, swelling in the feet and/or abdomen, spontaneous bleeding from the gums and nose for no reason, bruises on the skin, sexual intercourse. There is a wide range of complaints such as decrease in desire and power, enlargement of breast tissue in men and female-type breast enlargement. Sometimes, in the advanced stages of the disease, the patient may be admitted to the hospital with liver coma or bloody vomiting and may be diagnosed with cirrhosis as a result of the examinations. p>
Which methods are used for diagnosis?
Complete blood count, which can be done anywhere, liver tests and abdominal ultrasound and evaluation of internal organs are the simplest and cheapest diagnostic methods. More specific blood tests, imaging methods and sometimes liver biopsy can be used to find the cause of the disease and evaluate its stage.
What is the Course of the Disease?
Cirrhosis is long-term and progressive. It is a disease. The life expectancy of the patient varies depending on the cause of the disease and its stage at diagnosis. In the past, cirrhosis was almost synonymous with death. Today, with early diagnosis and cause-specific treatments and the rapid spread of liver transplantation, it has become a treatable disease in some patients. We divide these patients into two: compensated, that is, patients who can manage themselves and have sufficiently healthy liver tissue, and decompensated, that is, patients who are in advanced stage, patients who have water accumulation in their abdomen, jaundice, or patients who develop loss of consciousness due to liver coma. 10% of patients with compensated cirrhosis become decompensated each year. The 5-year survival rate, or life expectancy, of this patient group is approximately 10%. We also use some scoring systems to understand what stage these patients are in. When the score in the most commonly used Child-Turcotte-Pugh System exceeds 10, the probability of losing these patients within 1 year is 50%.
Is There a Treatment for Cirrhosis? What are they, if any?
Liver cirrhosis is an irreversible disease. However, it may be possible to stop or even reverse liver damage by stopping alcohol in alcohol-related liver cirrhosis, using special antiviral drugs for hepatitis B and C, and using specific drugs in types of cirrhosis due to copper and iron accumulation. In fact, in most patients, the main goals are to prevent the progression of the disease, to eliminate the signs of liver failure in advanced patients, to protect from the complications of cirrhosis and to prevent the development of liver cancer. The main treatment approach for end-stage liver patients is liver transplantation.
What is Liver Transplantation and How is it Done? ?
It is the transplantation of the liver of a living, healthy person or a person with brain death to a person with acute or chronic liver failure. The aim of liver transplantation is not only to extend the life of the patient but also to increase the quality of life.
What is the Status of Organ Transplantation in Our Country? How Many People Are Waiting for an Organ?
According to 2015 data in our country, the number of patients waiting for an organ transplant is 28 251. Of this, 22 146 are patients waiting for kidney transplantation, 2934 for cornea transplantation, 2223 for liver transplantation and 623 for heart transplantation. Approximately 4 thousand people are added to this list every year. 2 thousand people die every year while waiting for organ transplantation.
Currently, the number of patients waiting for liver transplantation in Turkey is 2135 and 195 in Southern Marmara.
18 in Turkey. Liver transplantation can be performed in a total of 39 centers in the province.
How to Donate an Organ? Where to Apply?
In Turkey, organ donation can be made at health directorates, hospitals, police headquarters during the license process, transplant centers or associations and foundations that deal with organ transplantation. The number is increasing day by day. However, compared to Europe, these rates are quite low. While the number of organ donors was 150 thousand as of 2015, it has reached 211 thousand as of yesterday.
What is the Islamic Perspective on Organ Transplantation?
Another person in Islam Saving lives and helping people in difficult situations is essential. Verse 32 of Surah Al-Maidah in the Holy Quran states: "Whoever gives life to someone will be rewarded as if he had given life to all people." It is said. 03.03 at the Presidency of Religious Affairs. In his decision dated 1980, he clearly stated that he supported organ and tissue transplantation.
When can I donate my organs?
There may be two situations here; While the person is alive, with his own free will, he can allow his organs and tissues to be used for patients in need after his medical life ends, or if he has not made a declaration in this regard while he is alive, his organs and tissues can be donated by his relatives after his medical life ends. This process is carried out from the dead (cadaver) to the living. moment donation. A person can donate a kidney or part of his liver to a patient in need with his own free will while he is alive.
Is there an age limit for organ donation?
Organ According to the transplantation law, in living-to-living organ donation, organs cannot be taken from people under the age of 18. However, there is no age limit for donations made from cadavers. Just as the donated organs of a deceased newborn baby can be used, the organs of a donor in their nineties can also be used.
Who can be a living donor in Liver Transplantation?
Volunteering is the Essential Element!
Who can be a living donor in Liver Transplantation? p>
• Recipient and Donor must be of the appropriate blood group. (See the table.) • Rh factor compatibility is not required in the donor candidate.
• He must not have any physical or mental problems.
• Candidates must be between the ages of 19 and 50.
• Donors must have a normal or near-normal body mass index chart.
ARE THERE FACTORS THAT PREVENT BECOMING A DONOR? WHAT ARE THEY?
• Those with Hepatitis B or C • Substance addiction such as alcohol and drugs
• HIV Infection
• Those with cancer
• Those with untreated or untreatable psychological illness
• Unusual Vascular Pathologies (Making Surgery Impossible)
• DM, HT
In living donor transplantation Organs can be provided from the following sources (in order of preference):
1. degree relative: Our mother, father and children are our first degree blood relatives.
2. degree relatives: Our siblings, grandchildren, grandparents (grandmother, grandmother) are our second-degree blood relatives.
3. degree relatives: Children of our siblings, that is, nephews, uncles, aunts, uncles, and aunts are our third-degree blood relatives.
4. Degree relative: The children of our 3rd degree relatives become our 4th degree relatives.
What kind of risks are there in living donors?
Qualified and experienced donors Donor surgery has no different risks than other surgeries, provided that it is performed by ip. The risk of death for a living donor is around 1%.
How Should We Protect Our Liver?
RECOMMENDATIONS
Select low-fat milk and yoghurt (light milk). ) prefer.
Consume beef, veal, sheep, lamb, chicken, white turkey and fish, provided that they are lean. Do not add oil to dishes cooked with meat. Grill, bake or boil instead of frying or roasting.
Try to eat fish at least two days a week.
Consume plenty of vegetables and fruits.
Fruit. Instead of drinking the water, prefer to eat the fruit itself with its peels.
Do not roast or fry vegetable dishes; Cook it raw.
Drink plenty of liquids. (at least 3.5 L / day)
Prefer low-fat white cheese instead of cheddar cheese. If you prefer to consume cheddar cheese, be careful not to exceed 30 g (about 1 matchbox) per day.
Prefer oils of vegetable origin instead of solid oils of animal origin in your meals.
Use olive oil by mixing it with corn or sunflower oil in a ratio of 1/1.
The salt you use in your meals and at the table. reduce the amount.
Eat little and often, increase the number of meals.
Do not drink alcohol, if you do, try to quit.
Do not smoke, if you do, try to quit.
Stay away from deep-fried or chocolate-based desserts. Consume milk desserts easily
PROHIBITED
Over-fat pastries, buns, cakes, cookies.
Over-fat red meats, offal (liver, brain, kidney, tongue). , spleen, heart, tripe), chicken skin, sausage, salami, sausage, pastrami.
Dried legumes in shell.
Oily nuts (hazelnuts, peanuts, almonds, sunflower seeds).
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