Liver Transplant Program at UPMC

UPMC is one of the oldest and largest liver transplant programs in the country. Since the program's inception in 1981, more than 6,000 adults have received liver transplants. This experience allows us to treat patients with complex liver conditions, including those with advanced liver cancer.

From the early years when Dr. Starzl pioneered a new field of surgery to more recent breakthroughs in immunosuppressive therapies, this progress has given hope to thousands of people with liver disease.

The UPMC Liver Transplant Program’s expertise and innovation includes transplant oncology — a treatment option in which doctors remove a patient’s cancerous liver and replace it with part of a living donor’s healthy liver.

The donated liver portion regrows to its original size, usually a few months after transplant. The donor’s liver regrows too.

Living-donor liver transplant can be an earlier and faster treatment for patients with advanced cancers.

UPMC offers living-donor liver transplantation as a treatment option for patients with these cancer diagnoses:

• Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
• Hilar cholangiocarcinoma.
• Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma or mixed cholangio/hepatocellular carcinoma.
• Unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer.
• Unresectable neuroendocrine tumor.

Liver resection involves the total or partial removal of the liver. Because of its regenerative ability, liver resection allows for continual functionality, even when parts of it are removed.

For patients diagnosed with liver cancer, liver resection offers the best chance for long-term survival. Our team has extensive experience in minimally invasive (laparoscopic) liver surgery as well as traditional (open) liver surgery. UPMC’s liver surgeons have pioneered minimally invasive (laparoscopic) liver surgery and have performed this technique more than 250 times — making them one of the most experienced teams in the United States.

Bile duct cancer is cancer in the tubes that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder. Bile is fluid your liver makes and uses to digest fats in the food you eat. At UPMC, our transplant team conducts different surgeries to treat bile duct cancer, such as:

• Bile duct removal: To remove the bile duct if the cancer hasn't spread.
• Partial hepatectomy: To remove the tumor and some of the surrounding tissue, leaving healthy tissue intact.
• Liver transplant: To remove the diseased liver and replace it with a healthy liver from a living donor.

Portal hypertension is the increased pressure in the portal vein, which is often a symptom of liver disease that is commonly caused by scarring in the liver. Similarly, variceal bleeding is initiated when there is too much pressure on the portal vein, causing blood flow to be restricted or pushed backward.

At UPMC, depending on the complexity of the disease, we provide treatment options such as liver transplantation and antiviral medicines used for treating hepatitis B and hepatitis C.