Frequently Asked Questions

There are more than 100 different liver diseases. The most common chronic liver diseases are Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), Alcoholic Liver Disease (Laennec’s cirrhosis), and Autoimmune diseases (Autoimmune hepatitis, Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, and Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis)

The most common symptoms are very non-specific and they include fatigue, loss of weight and muscle mass or excessive tiredness, lack of drive, and occasionally itching. Signs of liver disease that are more prominent are jaundice, or yellowing of the eyes and skin, dark urine, very pale or light coloured stool or bowel movements, bleeding from the GI tract, mental confusion, and retention of fluids in the abdomen or belly. Consult a liver expert and specialist to be sure about your condition

There are many causes, such as drug and alcohol abuse, viruses, hereditary defects, reactions to drugs and chemicals, and hygiene to name a few

Liver transplantation may be required for the patient suffering from acute & chronic liver failure due to Hepatitis Virus, cholestatic forms of cirrhosis (Primary Biliary Cirrhosis), alcoholic cirrhosis and rarely due to metabolic disease

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.