Common Diseases of the Liver

As per own renowned Liver Doctor in Dubai some of the most common liver problems are:

Jaundice: Jaundice is the yellowish discolouration of eyes and skin that occurs in liver disease. It is a sign of a serious liver problem. It can be caused by viral infections, toxic drugs, or excess alcohol use. It can also occur due to blockage of bile ducts due to a stone or a cancer of the pancreas, gallbladder or bile duct. We recommend you to consult our experts in liver diseases in Dubai immediately if you develop jaundice.

Hepatitis B and C: These are viruses that infect the liver and cause damage. Most patients have long standing infection with one of these viruses. Left untreated they can lead to liver cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer. Excellent medicines are available that can cure these infections.  Read more

Fatty Liver: It occurs due to accumulation of fat inside the liver, causing liver enlargement and liver damage. It is common in people with excessive alcohol consumption. Now a days, it is very common in patients who are overweight and diabetic. By itself it does not cause any symptoms and may not get diagnosed. However, in not treated in time, it is a progressive disease and can lead to liver cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer.

Alcoholic Liver Disease: It occurs due to excessive alcohol use. The initial damage due to alcohol is simple fatty liver which does not cause any symptoms. Continued alcohol use causes inflammation of the liver known as alcoholic hepatitis. In this condition person develops jaundice. Patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis go on to develop liver failure and die. Long standing alcohol use causes liver cirrhosis which is an irreversible condition leading eventually to liver failure.

Liver Cirrhosis: This condition results from long standing damage to the liver from hepatitis B or C, alcohol or fatty liver disease. The liver becomes shrunken, hard and scarred. This is an irreversible condition and patients eventually develop signs f liver failure such as jaundice, accumulation of fluid in the body, internal bleeding and mental confusion. Patients with cirrhosis are at very high risk for developing liver cancer.

Liver Cancer: Liver cancer usually occurs in patients who have liver cirrhosis. Patients with hepatitis B and C are also at high risk for developing liver cancer. Liver cancer appears as a small mass or nodule in the liver. In its early stages it does not cause any specific symptom and hence may not be detected. At risk patients should therefore undergo regular screening with a Liver Ultrasound scan once every six months so that early liver cancers can be detected. Patients with larger tumours have abdominal pain, jaundice and weight loss.

Benign Tumours: Benign (non-cancerous) tumours in liver are more common than actual liver cancer. They do not spread in the other body parts and do not pose serious health risks. Some of the benign liver tumours are hemangioma, adenoma and focal nodular hyperplasia. Benign tumours may still need to be removed if they are big in size and are causing pain and/or jaundice.

Liver Cysts: These are fluid filled cavities in the liver. They may be small or large, are detected incidentally on liver scans and usually do not cause any symptoms. Some infections like Hydatid disease can also cause cysts in the liver. These type of cysts grow in size and cause problems. These should be removed surgically.

Liver Surgery

Liver Surgery is usually required to remove cancers or tumours from the liver. Liver surgery should be undertaken only by highly trained expert liver surgeons. Liver surgery also requires good intensive care for post-operative recovery. Meticulous planning is required to make sure that a patient will tolerate removal of the part of the liver affected by the cancer, also making sure that the portion of the liver that remains behind will continue to work well after the surgery. Patients who have large liver cancers that cannot be removed are considered for liver transplantation in which the whole liver with the cancer is removed and replaced by a healthy liver from a donor. Patients who have liver failure due to cirrhosis, alcohol or hepatitis B and C also require a live transplant.

“Our expert doctors in Dubai can give you opinion on liver transplantation. Our group is associated with one of the largest liver transplant programs in India (www.transplantationliver.com).” 

Surgeons in our group have a specific expertise in highly complex liver surgeries. We provide “world class expertise in liver care at your doorstep.” Our group of expert medical doctors and surgeons can handle all sorts of liver related problems.

“We are capable of performing most advanced liver surgeries in Dubai with results as good as any other part of the world.”

The various surgeries performed by our expert liver surgeons in Dubai are:

Hepatectomy or Liver Resection:  It is a surgery in which the liver is cut to remove a diseased portion. Upto two-thirds of a patient’s liver can be removed safely. Usually a major hepatectomy is done by placing a large incision in right upper and central abdomen. This surgery is commonly used to remove tumours from the liver.

Laparoscopic Liver Resection:  With advanced skills, it is possible to remove tumours from the liver using keyhole surgery. This is one the most advanced and highly skilled procedures done exclusively by our expert surgeons in the whole of the United Arab Emirates.

Excision of Hydatid cyst or other cystic lesions of liver:  This surgery is done to remove cysts from the liver. This is not as complex as a liver resection but still requires an expert liver surgeon to perform it. Our surgeons are able to perform this surgery laparoscopically also which ensures less pain and faster recovery.