Liver Transplant Program Center
The first liver transplant performed at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia was in 1987. Today, Emory's Liver Transplant Program performs more than 60 adult liver transplants each year. Emory has a long tradition of end-stage liver disease treatment and portal hypertension care.
Emory's multidisciplinary team of liver transplant specialists is comprised of liver transplant surgeons, transplant hepatologists, gastroenterologists, anesthesiologists, pathologists, radiologists, nurses, and others who are experienced in treating liver failure. This group is well qualified to perform the sophisticated, life-saving surgical procedures involved in liver transplantation and to provide our patients with the best care available.
Emory Liver Program Highlights
In 2008, the Emory Transplant Center expanded its Atlanta liver transplant program to provide better access to liver transplantation for patients in Georgia and across the Southeast. Under the leadership of Surgical Director Dr. Stuart J. Knechtle and Medical Director Dr. James Spivey, Emory's Liver Transplant Program provides outstanding care, treatment, and follow-up to all our patients.
In July 2009, Emory transplant surgeons were the first in the state of Georgia to perform a very rare domino liver transplant. The procedure saved two lives: It cured a rare disease (Maple Syrup Urine Disease, or MSUD) in one patient and dramatically improved the quality of life in the other patient, who has suffered a lifetime battle with hemophilia, and more recently hepatitis C. In a domino liver transplant, a liver from a deceased donor is transplanted into the first recipient, and the first recipient's liver is then transplanted into a second recipient. Fewer than 100 domino liver transplants have been performed in the U.S.
Some immunosuppressants can raise blood pressure, so some transplant recipients must take additional medications to control their blood pressure. Your blood pressure is recorded as a top (systolic) and bottom (diastolic) number. Normal blood pressures range from 100/70 to 130/80. After your transplant you will take and record your own blood pressure daily. Notify a member of the transplant team if your blood pressure goes above 170/100 for two readings in a row. Untreated high blood pressure may damage your heart and other organs.
Emory is at the forefront of liver transplantation research, offering treatments that are available at only a few transplant centers around the country. These novel treatments include liver transplantation in HIV-positive patients and patients with cholangiocarcinoma, cancer of the bile ducts.
