If you make the decision to donate part of your liver to help someone in need, this overview explains the surgery so you know what to expect.
On the day of living liver donation surgery:
The entire liver donor operation will take five to seven hours.
During living-donor liver transplant surgery, you will have a partial hepatectomy, the surgical removal of a part of the liver.
Once you are under general anesthesia, the surgeon will:
After your surgery begins, a second team of surgeons starts to operate on the liver transplant recipient.
The evaluation process does not stop when the surgeries begin, but will continue throughout.
If, at any point, the surgical team believes that you are at risk or that your liver is not appropriate for transplant, they may stop the surgery.
Before you leave the operating room, surgeons will place drains in your abdominal cavity. These allowfluids to drain during postoperative healing and will stay in place for up to five days following the surgery.