Bile Infection From a Liver Transplant

Your liver is essential to your body's health and functions, as it aids in food disgestion, keeps clean blood flowing, produces cholesterol, and stores vitamins and minerals so your body can make it through the day. If serious, diseases of the liver such as cirrhosis, hepatitis and liver cancer may require a liver transplant.

What is Bile?

• Bile is a dark yellow or green, foul-tasting digestive fluid secreted by the liver that aids in digestion and the breakdown of fats. It travels through bile ducts and can be stored in the gall bladder. Bile salts, bilirubin and cholesterol are its main contents, but it also has water and salt. Bile is discharged into the duodenum where it maintains the absorption and digestion of fats.

Transplants

• After you have been diagnosed with a disease of the liver, your doctor will decide if you are a candidate for a liver transplant. Once you are deemed a good prospect, a liver must be found. You will be put on a waiting list until a liver that meets your needs is available. Different factors play a role as to how long this takes such as the stage of your disease and whether or not the liver is the right size and blood type for your body.

Bile Complications

• The most common problems that occur after liver transplant surgery have to do with bile secretions in the body due to leaks. Biliary complications occur in 13 percent to 19 percent of postoperative patients. Sometimes the problems arise from technical difficulties. Other times, bile leakage from the bile duct may have caused fibrosis or scarring. Often, these problems stem from the connecting ends of the donor and recipient ducts. The ends may have shrunk down or not been able to heal properly after the surgery.

Solutions

• There are different solutions to fixing a bile-related instance after transplant surgery. In the past, surgery had been the only choice, which can be invasive and cause more trauma to the patient, opening the doors to the possibility of infection. If the amount of leakage or damage is not too severe, a surgeon might be able to go in and repair the the duct, otherwise a new transplant may have to be performed. Bile drainage may be performed from outside the body, but may take a long period of time to complete. Biliary endoscopy, which is the insertion of a tiny imaging device into the organ, can help to monitor the drainage of the bile or the healing of the liver after surgery.

Symptoms

• A doctor will monitor progress after a liver transplant to ensure the body is adapting to it and that there are no signs of infection, rejection or bile leakage. Medicine will be prescribed to help your body accept the new liver. Some symptoms that something is wrong may be nausea, jaundice, (yellowing of the skin), fever or pain. If symptoms arise, your doctor may have to do a biopsy, which involves taking a small sample from the liver and examining it.