Advice please re decompensation since having kidney problems

[KT60]

My husband had kidney failure in march prior to that his liver was compensated even though has cirrhossis and everything was working ok, hospital stopped water tablets furesomide and spirolactone due to kidney failure not due to liver, kidney function returned to normal so was put back on spirolactone but not furesomide as they said it wouldnt help fluid. The fluid wouldnt go this happened in aintree hospital liverpool who told him LFT was ok but he is under the royal liverpool hospital for liver so when he went for his routine appt they said liver was now decompensated he has varices grade 1 he has portal hypertensive gastropathy which he knew he had so they said he will need a drain in which he goes every 5 weeks each time 6 litres removed. Last week he had mri scan as shadow showed on routine ct scan he has now been told he has hcc but is very small less than an inch, went to hospital today to get bloods done for drain next week and spoke to specialist nurse who said that once you have hcc then you can get more and he should ask about transplant apart from ascites he seems ok he does have a neurological condition called myasthenia gravis which is a muscle weakening illness which he copes with,just wondering is transplant the only option even though he seems ok and varices is grade one and portal vein is patented at moment platelets have also gone up from 90 to 104. Might add he doesnt drink gave uo long time ago.

Sorry for long post. New to this site but already grateful for previous replies to my posts.

Karen x

[chynablue]

Hi Karen, sorry to hear about your husband's struggles. You sound like you have a very good understanding of his health issues and treatment options. He is blessed to have you there to help!

Transplant is not the only option, but it might end up being the best option.

They could do the ablation of hcc and keep monitoring to make sure that it does not show up again. If all goes well, but he still struggles with ascites, there are other surgical options such as bypass shunting in the portal veins. Sometimes they call it a TIPS procedure. A lot of times they can do the procedure laparoscopically so the recovery is much easier. I think others on here have experience with that. Perhaps they could offer their perspective as well.

I think the decision will center on whether or not the hcc can be eliminated. If it shows up again after ablation, I would seriously consider transplant. The doctor should be able to help you with weighing the pros and cons, of course.

[KT60 in reply to chynablue]

Thank you karen xx

[Bermuda1]

Hi Karen , hopefully you will be able to see your husbands liver consultant soon. I think you need to have a whole list of questions ready to ask. What are they intending to do about the HCC and what are he options. Can he be assessed for transplant. There are some criteria in regard to HCC which can put you higher on the list , or mean you cannot be listed. I will get the link for you. It will also depend where the tumour is as sometimes they can remove that portion only. Its still a big op though as the liver is a very bloody organ . en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mil...

[KT60 in reply to Bermuda1]

Thank you really appreciate your advice x