Liver Transplant for Hepatitis B
Topic Overview
During a liver transplant, your damaged liver is removed
and replaced with a healthy one from an organ donor.
Liver transplantation is done to treat long-term (chronic)
hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection only after all other treatments have not worked,
because transplanted organs can become reinfected with HBV.
- Recurrent infections are often severe, leading to
rapid failure of the transplanted liver.
-
High doses of
hepatitis B immunoglobulin (HBIG) are given to try to prevent
reinfection.
- Short-term pre- and
post-transplantation therapy with a nucleoside reverse
transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI), such as entecavir, lamivudine, and tenofovir, may help
prevent reinfection of a transplanted liver.1
- Interferon and peginterferon are not used to
prevent reinfection of a transplanted liver.1
Liver transplants typically are done
at large medical centers. Transplantation is very expensive.
References
Citations
- Malet PF (2008). Chronic hepatitis. In DC
Dale, DD Federman, eds., ACP Medicine, section 4, chap.
8. Hamilton, ON: BC Decker.
Credits
| By | Healthwise Staff |
|---|
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine |
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| Specialist Medical Reviewer | W. Thomas London, MD - Hepatology |
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| Last Revised | October 29, 2012 |
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Last Revised:
October 29, 2012
Malet PF (2008). Chronic hepatitis. In DC
Dale, DD Federman, eds., ACP Medicine, section 4, chap.
8. Hamilton, ON: BC Decker.
