This unit works much like a kidney dialysis machine in the sense that it removes the blood from the body and pumps it through a set of filters to purify it. The procedure can last up to six hours, but patients may need only one or two sessions because the treatment restarts the damaged liver. Kidney patients, by comparison, require dialysis until they get a transplant.
Dr. David Mulligan, chairman of the division of transplant surgery at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale Arizona said that the two types of patients who will benefit most from the treatment will be those with sudden liver problems caused by overdoses of Tylenol and other drugs, and those whose chronic liver problems that make them transplant candidates.
Dialysis can stabilize chronic Hepatitis C patients and improve their chances of successful transplants. Dr. Mulligan stated, "It's not going to cure the liver disease. But prior to this, there were very few treatment options available."
Two patients in Arizona have undergone the dialysis. The side effects, which are minimal, are a reduction in the number of platelets in the blood (making blood clotting more difficult).
Since January 2000, the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale is one out of 15 hospitals across the nation to offer the liver dialysis. Not all insurance will cover the procedure yet, but Medicare will.
For information on this product including the site addresses of the hospitals currently using the Liver Dialysis Unit go to: http://www.hemotherapies.com/html/defaul...
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