Frequently Asked Questions

Transplantation of the liver means a transplant of liver tissue from a healthy donor to a recipient. It can be done to patients with end-stage liver disease. Get more knowledge about the transplantation of liver from a liver transplant surgeon

Liver is the largest organ inside your body. It helps your body digest food, store energy, and remove poisons. A healthy liver has the ability to grow back, or regenerate when it is damaged. Anything that prevents liver from growing back after injury may put your life at risk. The liver helps fight infections and cleans your blood. It also helps digest food and stores energy for when you need it. Consult the best liver doctors to know more about the liver  

In a small group of patients, when pain is still distressing to the patient despite optimisation of medications, our pain specialist would discuss in clarity interventions (procedures) that could be beneficial to control the pain. These procedures are performed on a shared decision basis in consensus with the patient and family. They are done with precision at ASTER is an advanced hybrid CATH LAB or Ultrasound guidance. Provision of service: Outpatient Inpatient Day-care Extended Home care services – Supervised Care by Primary physician continued at home Tele-consultation Consult the Best Palliative Care Specialist in Bangalore at Aster CMI Hospital in Hebbal.

Our one of the kind, inter-disciplinary service, provides personalised holistic care, with the patient as the primary focus, with caregivers valued inputs. Our team of experts include: Palliative Specialists Pain Specialist Specialty Clinics Constipation clinic Mucositis clinic Malignant wound clinic Lymphedema clinic Ostomy care clinic Experienced Specialist Palliative care Physician Assistants Physiotherapy, Occupational therapy, Speech and language therapist Psychology support/psycho-oncology support Clinical Pharmacist Mind-body medicine Nutritionists

Palliative care can be provided at all points in the disease course – from diagnosis through curative treatment, recovery or progression of the disease, to death and bereavement support.

Symptoms mean problems that arise from the illness/ the treatment for the illness such as: Pain – prevents an individual from being themselves and doing what they want. It affects their food intake, socialising and sleep leading to extreme distress. Nausea and Vomiting – prevents them from even having the smell of food. Distressing as unable to maintain strength and nourishment. Fatigue – feeling helpless as they are unable to be themselves. Breathlessness – Inability to walk or interact with family, distressing to the patient. Constipation – Not everyone wants to talk about it, but can be disabling causing loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, bloating. Delirium – Distressing for patient and family, where the patient will be in confused, forgetful or irritable. Core principles of Palliative medicine: Affirms life to be lived to the best possible quality. Provide personalised care and relief from distressing symptoms, throughout their illness. Affirms that pain can be psychological, emotional and spiritual and need to be heard and addressed professionally. Aim of any treatment is to neither speed up nor delay death. Accepts death and dying as normal physiological aspects of life. Respect the goals of care set by the patient and family.

The true scope of Pain and Palliative Care encompasses the care of a patient with a life-limiting illness, including, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic liver disease, Stroke, Neurological illnesses, cerebral palsy, cancer, AIDS, geriatric care, paediatric palliative care and those near the end of life.

Palliative care is a speciality in medicine that provides supportive care and symptom control for individuals across all ages with serious health-related suffering due to severe illness or its treatment. It aims to improve in a holistic manner, the quality and dignity of life of patients and their caregivers. Early integration of palliative care has proved scientifically to improve the longevity of life.

If your child is diagnosed with any of the above-mentioned conditions. If your physician/pediatrician has advised a bone marrow transplant as an option. Children who are diagnosed with cancers and do not respond to chemotherapy. Children who remain unwell and have recurrent infections. Immunological testing and a visit to an Immunologist is warranted. The immunologist would guide you, in case a transplant is needed in your situation.

Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) is a complex procedure requiring hospitalization for a month and sometimes longer. Following are the steps involved: The patient is evaluated for the need for a transplant. In some conditions, a bone marrow transplant is an emergency (for example – severe combined immune deficiency), while in others, it is an elective procedure wherein patients are stabilized before undergoing a transplant. Donor selection – Akin to blood transfusion, where one needs to transfuse blood with the right blood group; a match between the donor and recipient is of paramount importance in Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT). HLA matching is carried out using blood samples or buccal swabs. Healthy siblings who are fully matched on HLA typing offer the best outcome in most of the transplants. Haploidentical transplants (with mother/father being the donor) and matched unrelated donor (MUD) transplants are the other options. Conditioning – Here, the patient is admitted and medications are administered to prepare him/her for the transplant. Bone marrow transplant – Bone marrow-derived from the donor is administered as an intravenous infusion to the patient. Post-transplant recovery – The Patient is given medications and is observed for recovery. This period involves periodic blood tests to ensure recovery is smooth.