Is there anything that can be done for a liver that has been subjected to years of alcoholic abuse? Suppose someone is in a semi comatose state and given only oxygen and morphine drops for comfort, but not given any fluids or IV’s or food. Supposedly, the liver is too far gone to metabolize anything, so the person is being left, essentially, to starve. Two doctors have told us that the person is unlikely to ever wake up, but if she does wake up, she may be hungry/thirsty. Food and water can then be given, but because the liver can’t process the toxins (that are apparently in all food?), the person will then slip back into unconsciousness and possibly be in pain while the liver tries unsuccessfully to do a job it can no longer perform.
Is there anything that can be done?
Is this the way it’s supposed to be? No fluids at all? I thought people generally couldn’t live for more than a few days to a week without water, but a nurse said that because we’re mostly water, she might live like this for weeks.
Some more details:
Blood pressure was 80/40 for days, then rose to near normal levels.
Temperature has varied, but has essentially remained stable.
One doctor suspects renal/kidney failure.
It’s hard to believe that—short of transplants—nothing can be done for failed livers.
Any thoughts or ideas? How about questions we should be asking the doctors?
First off, if this is anyone you know, I’m sorry.
Second, IANAD, but cirrhosis of the liver is irreparable AFAIK. It’s basically conversion of healthy liver tissue into hardened scar-like tissue that no longer performs its intended function.
As OneCent Stamp said, there really is nothing that can be done for liver failure. You mention liver transplant and that is an option, but it tends not to be offered to those with alcohol-induced liver disease until that person has demonstrated sustained sobriety (at least in Canada). Of course, there’s also the issue of finding a donor as well as the huge risk of such a procedure in someone who’s already at death’s doorstep.
In a person with advanced liver disease, the presence of even a 'small degree" of kidney malfunction is an ominous prognostic factor. In truth, it usually means death will come shortly.
Whether to withhold nourishment and/or water to people who are terminally ill, especially when they’re in a coma or semi-coma, is, of course, a difficult decision. One thing to consider is that there’s pretty good evidence that no suffering is experienced by someone who is getting neither.