Hepatorenal Syndrome

Dear Ask The Doctor: My Father is 57 years old. He had jaundice about 2 months ago and then asitis was discovered. His condition was improving but his bilirubin and creatinin levels did not come down; A month ago scleriosis was discovered in his liver and hence a transplant was recommended;now he is facing renal failure and he is on ventilator as he could not take the dialysis and the transplant cannot happen without stabilising first. Please help me!

Dear Radha:

I know how difficult your father’s condition is and how concerned you are about it. As you may already know Cirrhosis or sclerosis of the liver might have cause complications in his kidneys which is in some way common in patients waiting for a liver transplant.

Depending on what type of renal failure he has at the moment, his prognosis could even be considered reserved. I agree with his doctor’s about stabilizing his renal function first before proceeding with the liver transplant, and I am pretty sure that they are already taking care of that by using medications to buy time for the liver transplant. You should understand that when kidneys are compromised by liver cirrhosis, this is usually a sign of poor prognosis. I am sorry that I can’t give you an exact advice on how to manage him since I don’t have knowledge of his exact state but I would suggest you to talk to his physician directly for a more detailed perspective of your father’s condition. I wish him a prompt recovery.