The average length of hospitalization is eight days. If you live outside of the Cincinnati area, you may need to remain in a hotel or with relatives near the hospital for a short time after discharge. You will have scheduled blood tests twice a week on Monday and Thursday. You will need to call these results in to the liver transplant office. The transplant coordinator will discuss your schedule of outpatient tests, office visits and liver biopsies and when you can plan on returning to your own home. Once you return home, your primary care or referring doctor will be seeing you regularly. In addition, the surgeon and the transplant coordinators will be reviewing all information you submit to the Transplant Office. You will need to come in to see the surgeons in the outpatient office frequently. If you do not have a family doctor, it is important to find one and establish a relationship with him or her. This will enable the doctor to be more familiar with your case and to follow you after your transplant.

If tests indicate a change in liver function, you may need to have a liver biopsy. The biopsy results will show the condition of the bile ducts, blood vessels and any signs of rejection.

As mentioned before, you will receive a post transplant handbook that contains information about medications and how to take care of yourself after transplant. You will learn to take your temperature, blood pressure and weight. After you are discharged, you will need to call these results in to the transplant office along with your lab results whenever you have lab tests done. As you progress, the frequency of blood tests will decrease.

All transplant patients require yearly routine physical examinations for life. Women must remember to have a pap smear and mammogram once a year after transplant. Men need a testicular and prostate examination and a PSA (prostatic specific antigen) test over age 50. These exams are performed by your family doctor as cancer screening procedures.

As you regain strength after the transplant surgery, you will probably find that you feel better than you have felt in some time. Most people are able to return to an active life including employment, raising their families and traveling, with only minor alterations in lifestyle. The time required to return to normal varies from patient to patient. Some patients recover after a month, some after a few months and some after six months or a year. It is important to discuss your expectations and goals with the transplant team.

The medical social worker will work with you and your family to determine what your discharge arrangements will be. Sometimes home nursing is ordered to help you recuperate at home. Occasionally, patients need to enter a rehabilitation facility to regain their strength. The medical social worker will help to make the arrangements for this placement if it is needed.

The first three months following your transplantation are the most difficult. Your body is adjusting to the "new" liver and all the medications needed to maintain its health. By the time of your discharge from the hospital you will be able to care for yourself, with some minor restrictions. The transplant team will carefully prepare you for discharge. Playing sports and getting healthy exercise, socializing , and traveling for business and pleasure are all possible.