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Liver Transplant Nutrition

Liver transplantation is a major surgery that requires a lot of careful planning, both before and after the procedure. Proper nutrition can mean the difference between a successful surgery and one with complications.

  1. Prevention

    • Nutrition plays a major role before and after liver transplantation. A patient will undergo pre-transplant nutritional therapy to fight against risk of infection, debility and deconditioning, per the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

    Features

    • Exact amounts of calorie and protein intakes are determined by doctors. AASLD also recommends multivitamins such as folic acid, zinc and magnesium to correct other deficiencies.

    Considerations

    • Nutritional support is just as important after transplantation as it is before. Many factors can affect a patient’s health and nutrition, including preoperative malnutrition, stress from surgery and immunosuppressive therapy.

    Returning to Normal

    • Feeding tubes will be required for a period of time following surgery until oral intake is possible. Oral intake isn’t possible if the patient has a nonfunctional digestive tract.

    Warning

    • Other nutritional complications can arise following liver transplantation. Long-term nutritional management is necessary after surgery to prevent obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia and hypertension.

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