Overview of Liver Transplant Program
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin has a longstanding regional reputation for innovation and expertise in comprehensive care for a variety of liver problems and liver disease. Our interdisciplinary team provides diagnosis, treatment, and care management as well as education and support for pediatric patients with a variety of conditions. Some of these include:
- Autoimmune hepatitis
- Hepatitis B
- TPN cholestasis
- Elevated transaminases
- Hepatomegaly
- Jaundice
- Biliary atresia
- Alagille's Syndrome
- Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency
- Wilson's disease
- Hemochromatosis
- Cirrhosis: Cryptogenic-Idiopathic
Since 1988 Children's Hospital of Wisconsin has been offering new hope for children with chronic liver disease through the Liver Transplant Program.
The most recent advancement has been providing liver transplants for children with metabolic liver disease. Children's Hospital is one of only a few centers in the country to offer transplant as a treatment option for these rare genetic disorders.
Experience
Our transplant team has extensive experience in treating the most difficult cases. Our highly skilled Liver Transplant Specialists have performed liver transplants on patients as young as three weeks old.
Our transplant specialists perform:
- Transplants from living donors who are relatives of the child.
- Transplants from non-relatives
- Transplants from non-living donors.
The collective experience of the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Liver Transplant Specialists include performing nearly 50 liver transplants a year on adults and children. With the added expertise of the Lung Transplant Team, they performed the country's first liver/lung transplant in 1995.
A Team Approach
Liver transplant care for children is family-centered and provided by a multidisciplinary team including:
- Transplant nurse coordinator
- Transplant surgeons
- Social worker, Child psychologist
- Advance Practice and staff nurses
- Dietitians
- Pharmacists
- Anesthesiologists
- Cardiologists
- Hematologists
- Infectious Disease specialists
- Child Life Specialists
- Pharmacists
- Pathologists
The team is dedicated to ensuring open lines of communication as well as consistent and compassionate care. Referring physicians and family members have easy access to the entire transplant team. |
