Liver cirrhosis is a later stage of scarring or fibrosis of the liver. The cirrhosis of the liver is caused by a number of diseases of the liver and several other conditions such as hepatitis and chronic alcoholism. Every time the liver is injured either by a disease or excessive intake of alcohol or any other causes, the liver tries to repair itself. In this process of repair each of the time, a scar tissue is formed. With the progress of cirrhosis more and more scar tissues keep on forming which in turn makes the functioning of the liver quite difficult. Advanced level of cirrhosis is life threatening in nature. The damage so caused to the liver as a result of cirrhosis usually cannot be undone. But if this condition of the liver is detected in the early stages, further damages can be prevented but very rarely completely reversed.

Causes of Cirrhosis

Cirrhosis of liver cannot happen overnight but it occurs due to a prolonged damage of the liver. The major causes of cirrhosis of the liver are as mentioned below.

• Excessive consumption of alcohol
• Long term infection of hepatitis B or hepatitis C
• Obesity
• Accumulation of fat in the liver that is non alcoholic fatty liver disease
• Cystic fibrosis
• Building up of iron in the body or hemochromatosis
• Accumulation of copper in the liver or Wilson’s disease
• Alagille syndrome or genetic digestive disorder
• Autoimmune diseases which cause harm to the liver
• Infections like brucellosis syphilis

Apart from the major causes of cirrhosis mentioned above, there are a number of others as well.

Symptoms of Cirrhosis

Some of the most common signs and symptoms of cirrhosis of liver includes the following.

• Unexplained fatigue
• Nausea
• Loss of weight
• Loss of appetite
• Easily bruising or bleeding
• Swelling in the legs, ankles and feet
• Yellowing of skin and eyes
• Accumulation of fluid in the abdomen
• Blood vomiting
• Redness in the palms
• Spider web like blood vessels on the skin
• Intensely itchy skin
• Brownish urine
• Enlarged spleen
• Confusion, slurred speech and drowsiness
• Loss of sex drive in men and enlargement of breasts
• Loss of periods in women not due to menopause or absent periods

The symptoms are closely noticed and monitored by the doctors so as to come to a conclusion regarding the stage of cirrhosis of the liver along with the help of some other tests as well.

Treatment of Cirrhosis

The identification of the stage of the cirrhosis of liver is of immense importance. This helps in chalking out the most appropriate treatment plan for the affected individuals. The expert doctors at Gujarat Super Speciality Hospital carries out some physical examinations, blood tests, imaging tests and ultimately liver biopsy for the purpose of determining the extent to which cirrhosis has damaged the liver. The doctors would treat the affected individuals for alcohol dependency if required and suggest to lose weight. Some medications are used for controlling hepatitis, blood pressure and for controlling other symptoms of cirrhosis of liver depending on the patient along with the exact cause due to which cirrhosis has occurred. The doctors also might as well suggest a low sodium diet and also prescribe antibiotics for the prevention of infections if any.

Gujarat Super Speciality Hospital has a state of art Liver ICU for providing an effective treatment to all sorts of liver ailments. The hospital has all the necessary infrastructure so as to offer the premium quality treatment to the affected individuals. The hospital also conducts liver transplant surgery which the ultimate step in case the liver ceases to function completely. The surgery involves replacing of the non functional liver with a healthy liver from a deceased donor or with a part of healthy liver from a living donor. The experts liver surgeons at the Gujarat Super Speciality Hospital efficiently and effectively takes care to provide the best treatment to the patients.