THE TORONTO HOSPITAL'S
LIVER TRANSPLANT PROGRAM

(Toronto, March 27, 1996) The Toronto Hospital Liver Transplant Program was established in 1985. The program has performed more than 500 liver transplants and survival rates are 85 per cent or better at one year.

Liver transplantation is the treatment of choice for many patients with end-stage liver disease. Refinements in surgical techniques, more effective immunosuppressant agents and improved techniques for the preservation of the donor liver have all contributed to the success of liver transplantation.

One in 20 Canadians will suffer from some form of liver disease. Cirrhosis has become the third most common cause of death in men in their fifties and sixties.

A liver can function with 90 per cent damage to its mass. Total destruction or removal leads to death within 10 hours. Conditions considered for liver transplantation include:

· end stage liver disease cirrhosis (i.e. primary biliary cirrhosis, autoimmune hepatitis with cirrhosis, viral hepatitis cirrhosis

· metabolic liver disease

· end stage bile duct disease, i.e. sclerosing cholangitis, biliary atresia

· acute fulminant hepatic failure, i.e. viral hepatitis

Statistics

Survival rate at one year: 90 per cent; at five years: 78 per cent

Average age of patients: 45

Breakdown of patients: 224 females, 276 males

Number of patients waiting for a liver transplant at TTH: 35

Number of liver transplants in 1995: 73

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