If left untreated, liver diseases can lead to impaired liver function and permanent damage. Non-surgical therapy may not be able to restore the underlying damage to the liver but may provide relief from pain and alleviate discomfort.
Liver Tumor Ablation Techniques
Instead of killing it, Ablation therapies suppress a liver tumor. Physicians use a probe to kill tumors with hot energy in these techniques. For smaller tumors smaller than 3 cm, this minimally invasive approach is the most successful.
Hepatitis Treatments
The hepatitis virus destroys antiviral medications. The medicine you get depends on the type of hepatitis that you have. Weakness, headache, nausea, and sleep disorders are the most common side effects caused by these medicines. Interferon helps the immune system fend off the hepatitis virus. Side effects may include respiratory difficulties, dizziness, changes in weight, and depression. Interferon is not commonly used to treat hepatitis C, as antiviral drugs can be used to cure it.
Other Treatments
There will be a unique treatment regimen for each liver disorder. For instance, to retain hydration, hepatitis A requires supportive treatment as the immune system of the body fights and resolves the infection. Medications may be needed to regulate the amount of protein ingested into the diet in people with cirrhosis and end-stage liver disease. The liver affected by cirrhosis may not be able to metabolize waste products, resulting in increased levels of ammonia in the blood and encephalopathy in the liver (lethargy, confusion, coma). To decrease water retention, a low-sodium diet and water pills (diuretics) may be needed. In people with significant quantities of fluid from ascites (fluid collected in the abdominal cavity), the excess fluid may need to be removed with a needle and syringe sometimes (paracentesis). For patients whose livers have collapsed, liver transplantation is the last resort.
