This book introduces the clinical application of artificial liver system (ALS) in hepatic failure. It has been widely used in clinics aiming to provide temporary support of liver function while maintaining extra-hepatic function in patients with liver failure. This work comprehensively summarizes the progress of livers and artificial liver, for example, the principle and implementation of Li-ALS, cell transplantation and the combined application of artificial liver and liver transplantation. It will be helpful for clinicians to implement artificial liver treatment to save the lives of patients with hepatic failure.

Chronic liver failure is a frequent condition in clinical practice that encompasses all manifestations of patients with end-stage liver diseases. Chronic liver failure is a multiorgan syndrome that affects the liver, kidneys, brain, heart, lungs, adrenal glands, and vascular, coagulation, and immune systems. Chronic Liver Failure: Mechanisms and Management covers for the first time all aspects of chronic liver failure in a single book, from pathogenesis to current management. Each chapter is written by a worldwide known expert in their area and all provide the latest state-of-the-art knowledge. This volume is specifically designed to provide answers to clinical questions to all doctors dealing with patients with liver diseases, not only clinical gastroenterologists and hepatologists, but also to internists, nephrologists, intensive care physicians, and transplant surgeons.

In recent years there has been an increasing need for transplantation, but the number of donor livers available has increased only slightly, despite intensive public relations activities. New concepts in the field of transplantation, for instance the transplantation of living donor organs or the splitting of organs, are urgently required, to safeguard the treatment of patients with severe liver disease. The development and clinical application of cell therapy for patients with liver disease could soon present a significant enhancement of the therapeutic options. The aim of such cell therapy is to repair or improve the biological function of the chronically and acutely damaged liver. Even though systematic trials are not available, individual case reports and small series already show promising clinical results. Present concepts of cell therapy for liver diseases based on the use of primary hepatocytes have recently been considerably extended through new data on the biology of stem cells. The adult haematopoetic stem cell as a pool for hepatocyte grafts - what would be the perspectives for the clinical application? This book is the proceedings of the Falk Symposium No. 126 on `Hepatocyte Transplantation' (Progress in Gastroenterology and Hepatology Part III) held in Hannover, Germany, October 2-3, 2001, and is a forum for basic research, but also for questions concerning clinical applications in the field of hepatocyte transplantation.

In recent years, substantial progress has been made in the approaches to diagnosis and treatment of severe liver diseases in the pediatric ICU, from various forms of liver failure and hepatitis to acute and chronic liver disease. New techniques and tools are being utilized to prevent patients from experiencing complications and for patients in recovery from operations on the native or donor liver. This book describes the clinical presentation and management of liver diseases in the intensive care unit with the pediatric patient in mind. In addition, advances in bone marrow transplantation, cardiac-generated liver disorders and new therapeutic approaches, such as artificial liver support, are discussed in detail. Presenting the current available knowledge in a compelling form, Liver Diseases in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit is a valuable resource for pediatric gastroenterologists and hepatologists, pediatricians and intensivists.

Explore this practical and step-by-step guide to managing liver transplant patients from leading international clinicians in Hepatology The newly revised Second Edition of Liver Transplantation: Clinical Assessment and Management delivers expert clinical guidance on best practices in managing the care of liver transplant patients. Authors are all experts in their field and cover a world-wide perspective. Organized in an accessible, stepwise fashion and packed with text features such as key points, the book covers all critical areas of each stage of the liver transplant journey, from assessment, to management on the list, to long term care. Readers will learn when to refer a patient for liver transplantation, how to assess a potential liver transplant recipient, learn the principles of the procedure and the long term management of the transplant recipient. Liver Transplantation provides the entire hepatology and surgical team the information required for a sound understanding of the entire procedure, from pre- to post-operative care and management. Clinically oriented and management-focused, the book is far more accessible than the liver transplant sections in traditional hepatology textbooks. Readers will also enjoy: A thorough discussion of when to refer a patient for liver transplantation, including general considerations and the use and abuse of prognostic models An exploration of the selection, assessment, and management of patients on the transplant list, including how to manage a patient with chronic liver disease while on the waiting list A treatment of liver transplantation for acute liver failure (ALF), including assessment and management of ALF patients on the transplant waiting list A discussion of care of the liver transplant recipient after the procedure in the short and long term Perfect for gastroenterologists, hepatologists, and surgeons and other health care professionals managing patients with liver disease who are awaiting, undergoing and following liver transplantation, Liver Transplantation: Clinical Assessment and Management will also earn a place in the libraries of medical students, residents, internal medicine physicians, and GI/Hepatology trainees and all health care professionals providing clinical care to people with liver disease, before, during and after transplantation.

Continuing progress has been made since the first edition of Artificial Liver Support was published. Liver transplantation has however become an estab lished therapy for a relatively small number of patients who remain patients for life. There therefore continues to be a great need for the development of other forms of artificial liver support. Improved intensive care utilizing improved plasma exchange, dialysis, sclerotherapy, and intracranial pressure monitoring have improved survival in fulminant hepatic failure. Progress has also been made in lipid membrane detoxification, in cell cultures, and in cell transplantation, and the isolation of various liver cell growth factors has led to deep insight into the mechanisms of liver regeneration. This book gives the clinician and the researcher detailed information about established new methods of clinic work and laboratory research, and describes new experimental approaches indicating the direction of future research. G. BRUNNER M. Mno Preface to the First Edition The regenerative capacity of the liver cell is almost unlimited. Therefore after acute liver damage, be it viral, toxic, hypoxic, or surgical in origin, restitutio ad integrum is the usual outcome. In two forms of liver disease, however, this is not the case: in fulminant hepatic failure, liver regeneration often is not fast enough to keep the organism alive; in end-stage cirrhosis, regeneration is disturbed by a hypertrophic architecture of fibrotic tissue. For these extreme forms of liver disease and for critical situations before and after liver surgery, artificial liver support is needed.