How to Help Someone Recover From a Liver Transplant

Long-term survival for liver transplant requires excellent home nursing care and family support. Your participation can mean the difference between acceptance and rejection of the new liver.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Help the patient with medications, which should be taken at the same time each day. For the first month, she may be tired and a bit unfocused. Make a chart of medicines and the times you give them.
2. Take her temperature and blood pressure twice a day, at the same time each day, and write them down in a journal. Before breakfast and dinner is best.
3. Encourage her to move around. Lend your arm to steady her for walks.
4. Avoid smacking against the new liver, the surgical site or the abdomen. Avoid the surgical site when helping her to move around. Take care not to apply pressure to the incision and surrounding area.
5. Monitor the color of stools, and make sure her bowels are moving regularly. Clay-colored stools or constipation lasting longer than two days should be reported to the transplant coordinator.
6. Keep your patient's incision and T-tube clean. Wipe the site and tube insertion site with a betadine swab, or follow whatever procedure recommended by your transplant coordinator.
7. Prepare nutritious, high-fiber, low-salt meals.
8. Listen to your loved one, who may feel depressed or frightened and may need to talk. Consider contacting your transplant coordinator for professional counseling.
9. Learn the signs and symptoms of rejection and infection. Report them to the transport coordinator immediately.
10. Prevent infection. Wash hands frequently, especially when you return home after shopping and other errands. No one who is sick or getting over an infectious illness should visit.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have any questions or concerns, contact a physician or other health care professional before engaging in any activity related to health and diet. This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment.