The Transplant Process: Collaboration and Communication with Referring Physicians
A member of the UPMC liver transplant team communicates with you throughout the entire transplant process and keeps you updated on your patient’s progress.
Pretransplant Medical Management
- Once approved for liver transplantation, patients are assigned to a pretransplant nurse coordinator and listed with the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).
- During the waiting period, our transplant team can collaborate with you to develop a comprehensive treatment plan.
- The nurse coordinator communicates with you to ensure your patient’s status with UNOS is accurate, and keeps you informed about your patient’s condition.
Transplantation
- The transplant coordinator notifies your patient when an organ becomes available.
- The patient then reports for admission to the Starzl Transplant Institute in Pittsburgh and is prepped for surgery.
- Following surgery, patients may be transferred to the transplant intensive care unit (TICU) until they are stable.
- The liver transplant team provides primary care during hospitalization and long-term follow-up after discharge.
Post-transplant and Follow-Up Care
In the days following surgery, the transplant team will educate patients and family members about post-transplant care instructions, including:
- medications
- activity restrictions
- the frequency of posttransplant blood work and follow-up appointments
Caring for your patient doesn't end upon discharge.
- Patients will return to the Transplant Institute, as needed, so we can adjust medications and ensure organ acceptance.
- After posttransplant recovery, we ask patients to return for an annual evaluation.
- Once your patient is transferred back to your care full time, we continue to be available for consultation.
Continuous communication with the transplant surgeons can include:
- in-person interactions
- by telephone and e-mail
- teleconference sessions for physicians remotely located