Cholecystitis is inflammation of the gallbladder. Symptoms include right upper abdominal pain, pain in the right shoulder, nausea, vomiting, and occasionally fever. Often gallbladder attacks precede acute cholecystitis. The pain lasts longer in cholecystitis than in a typical gallbladder attack. Without appropriate treatment, recurrent episodes of cholecystitis are common. Complications of acute cholecystitis include gallstone pancreatitis, common bile duct stones, or inflammation of the common bile duct.
Caroli disease is a rare inherited disorder characterized by cystic dilatation of the bile ducts within the liver. There are two patterns of Caroli disease: focal or simple Caroli disease consists of abnormally widened bile ducts affecting an isolated portion of liver. The second form is more diffuse, and when associated with portal hypertension and congenital hepatic fibrosis, is often referred to as "Caroli syndrome". The underlying differences between the two types are not well understood. Caroli disease is also associated with liver failure and polycystic kidney disease. The disease affects about one in 1,000,000 people, with more reported cases of Caroli syndrome than of Caroli disease.
Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for end-stage liver disease and acute liver failure, although availability of donor organs is a major limitation. Liver transplantation is highly regulated, and only performed at designated transplant medical centers by highly trained transplant physicians. Favorable outcomes require careful screening for eligible recipients, as well as a well-calibrated live or deceased donor match.
Cholecystectomy is the surgical removal of the gallbladder. Cholecystectomy is a common treatment of symptomatic gallstones and other gallbladder conditions. In 2011, cholecystectomy was the eighth most common operating room procedure performed in hospitals in the United States. Cholecystectomy can be performed either laparoscopically, or via an open surgical technique.
Biliary atresia, also known as extrahepatic ductopenia and progressive obliterative cholangiopathy, is a childhood disease of the liver in which one or more bile ducts are abnormally narrow, blocked, or absent. It can be congenital or acquired. It has an incidence of one in 10,000–15,000 live births in the United States, and a prevalence of one in 16,700 in the British Isles. Biliary atresia is most common in East Asia, with a frequency of one in 5,000.
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is a technique that combines the use of endoscopy and fluoroscopy to diagnose and treat certain problems of the biliary or pancreatic ductal systems. It is primarily performed by highly skilled and specialty trained gastroenterologists. Through the endoscope, the physician can see the inside of the stomach and duodenum, and inject a contrast medium into the ducts in the biliary tree and/or pancreas so they can be seen on radiographs.
Cholangiocarcinoma, also known as bile duct cancer, is a type of cancer that forms in the bile ducts. Symptoms of cholangiocarcinoma may include abdominal pain, yellowish skin, weight loss, generalized itching, and fever. Light colored stool or dark urine may also occur. Other biliary tract cancers include gallbladder cancer and cancer of the ampulla of Vater.
Alagille syndrome (ALGS) is a genetic disorder that affects primarily the liver and the heart. Problems associated with the disorder generally become evident in infancy or early childhood. The disorder is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern, and the estimated prevalence of Alagille syndrome is 1 in every 30,000 to 1 in every 40,000 live births. It is named after the French pediatrician Daniel Alagille, who first described the condition in 1969. Children with Alagille syndrome live to the age of 18 in about 90% of the cases.
Ascending cholangitis, also known as acute cholangitis or simply cholangitis, is inflammation of the bile duct, usually caused by bacteria ascending from its junction with the duodenum. It tends to occur if the bile duct is already partially obstructed by gallstones.
Neonatal cholestasis refers to elevated levels of conjugated bilirubin identified in newborn infants within the first few months of life. Conjugated hyperbilirubinemia is clinically defined as >20% of total serum bilirubin or conjugated bilirubin concentration greater than 1.0 mg/dL regardless of total serum bilirubin concentration. The differential diagnosis for neonatal cholestasis can vary extensively. However, the underlying disease pathology is caused by improper transport and/or defects in excretion of bile from hepatocytes leading to an accumulation of conjugated bilirubin in the body. Generally, symptoms associated with neonatal cholestasis can vary based on the underlying cause of the disease. However, most infants affected will present with jaundice, scleral icterus, failure to thrive, acholic or pale stools, and dark urine.
Biliary dyskinesia is a disorder of some component of biliary part of the digestive system in which bile cannot physically move in the proper direction through the tubular biliary tract. It most commonly involves abnormal biliary tract peristalsis muscular coordination within the gallbladder in response to dietary stimulation of that organ to squirt the liquid bile through the common bile duct into the duodenum. Ineffective peristaltic contraction of that structure produces postprandial right upper abdominal pain (cholecystodynia) and almost no other problem. When the dyskinesia is localized at the biliary outlet into the duodenum just as increased tonus of that outlet sphincter of Oddi, the backed-up bile can cause pancreatic injury with abdominal pain more toward the upper left side. In general, biliary dyskinesia is the disturbance in the coordination of peristaltic contraction of the biliary ducts, and/or reduction in the speed of emptying of the biliary tree into the duodenum.
Surgical Outcomes Analysis & Research, SOAR, is a research laboratory of the Department of Surgery at Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center with expertise in outcomes research. SOAR investigates surgical diseases and perioperative outcomes. The group focuses on pancreatic cancer, other gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary malignancies, vascular disease, and transplant surgery. SOAR's goal is to examine quality, delivery, and financing of care in order to have an immediate impact on patient care and system improvements. The group members utilize national health services and administrative databases, as well as institutional databases, to investigate and to address factors contributing to disease outcomes and healthcare disparities.
Arvinder Singh Soin is an Indian surgeon and the Chief Hepatobiliary and Liver Transplant Surgeon & Chairman of the Institute of Liver Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine, Medanta-The Medicity. Known for his work in the field of liver transplantation, Soin also runs the Liver Transplant institute at the Sir H. N. Reliance Foundation Hospital, Mumbai. He has performed more than 3500 living donor liver transplants in India.
Sander S. Florman is an American transplant surgeon and Director of the Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. He is a member of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, the American Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association, the American Society of Transplantation and the American College of Surgeons.
Thomas D. Schiano is an American specialist in liver transplantation, intestinal transplantation and in the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic liver disease. He serves as associate editor for the journals Hepatology and Liver Transplantation and has published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and abstracts and more than 20 book chapters.
Sarbeswar Sahariah is an Indian nephrologist and organ transplant specialist, known for his expertise in renal and pancreatic transplantation. He was honoured by the Government of India, in 2014, by bestowing on him the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for his contributions to the field of medicine. Sahariah is credited with more than 3000 renal transplantations, which many consider, has made him the most prolific kidney transplant surgeon in the country.
Samiran Nundy is an Indian gastrointestinal surgeon, medical academic, writer and the President of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh. He is a former member of the faculty at the Cambridge University, London University and Harvard University, and is the founder editor of the National Medical Journal of India and Tropical Gastroenterology. The Government of India awarded him the fourth-highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1985.
Chen Chao-long is a Taiwanese transplant surgeon.
Giriraj Singh Bora is an Indian liver transplant surgeon. He is the founder member of the Liver Transplant Society of India. Bora was the first surgeon to successfully transplant a liver in Rajasthan. He carried out the first deceased donor and the first living donor liver transplants in Rajasthan and has been instrumental in starting a liver transplant program in the region. He currently serves as the joint director of Liver Transplantation and senior consultant of Gastrointestinal Surgery at Artemis Hospital.
James Michael Millis is an American surgeon specializing in pediatric and adult liver transplantation. He is Professor of Surgery and Vice Chair of Global Surgery at University of Chicago. He is also the director of Clinical Leadership Development Fellowship and Hepatobiliary Surgery at the University of Chicago Medical Center. He is known for developing new techniques of liver surgery that improved outcomes following liver transplantation and non transplant liver and biliary tract surgery.
