Liver Transplantation, Hepatobiliary & Pancreatic Surgery

The goal of the Asian Health Program at Weill Cornell Medicine is to bridge the gap between access and care to New York City’s growing Asian population. New York City is home to the largest Asian population of any U.S. city, and the Chinese population is the largest of any city outside of China itself. These populations face disproportionate burdens of disease, particularly from liver cancers and hepatitis B & C. Despite this, Asian immigrants tend to underutilize health care services, as cultural and linguistic barriers often pose challenges to Asian Americans seeking care in the complex American healthcare system.

Our highly-experienced providers work closely with our Mandarin- and Cantonese-speaking staff to help these patients navigate the healthcare system and obtain the care they need.  We are committed to providing interdisciplinary care in easily accessible locations staffed with culturally and linguistically appropriate individuals. Our program has the best outcomes in our region, and now, in addition to Weill Cornell Medicine’s primary location in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, we offer these services in Chinatown neighborhoods.

At NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine, we have a deep commitment to compassionate personal care and clinical innovation. Our physicians and surgeons have a great deal of expertise but we offer an experience where the doctors take the time to explain conditions, procedures, treatments and alternatives. Liver disease and surgery can be frightening and confusing. Our entire team is here to ensure that you are confident that you are getting the best care in the world. 
     
Liver transplantation surgically replaces a failing or diseased liver with one that is normal and healthy. At this time, transplantation is the only cure for liver insufficiency or liver failure because no device or machine reliably performs all of the functions of the liver. The liver is a vital organ, meaning that one cannot live without it. The liver serves many critical functions including metabolism of drugs and toxins, removing degradation products of normal body metabolism (for example clearance of ammonia and bilirubin from the blood), and synthesis of many important proteins and enzymes (such as factors necessary for blood to clot). 

People who require liver transplants typically have one of the following conditions: 

• Acute Liver Failure-occurs when a previously healthy liver suffers massive injury resulting in clinical signs and symptoms of liver insufficiency. The hallmark of this condition is the development of confusion (encephalopathy) within eight weeks after the onset of yellowing of the skin (jaundice). Confusion occurs because toxins typically metabolized by the liver accumulate. Unlike patients with chronic liver disease, who can survive weeks to months to years while awaiting liver transplantation, patients with acute liver failure may die within days if not transplanted. 
  
  
• Chronic Liver Failure- the liver has a remarkable ability to repair itself in response to injury. Nevertheless, repeated injury and repair, typically over many years and even decades, scars the liver permanently. The end stage of scarring is termed cirrhosis and corresponds to the point where the liver can no longer repair itself. Although medications can decrease the symptoms caused by the liver failure, liver transplantation represents the only permanent cure.
       
• Liver Cancer- for patients with both early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis who cannot undergo resection (removal), the latest advancement in treatment is liver transplantation. In a small percentage of patients, the liver function is normal and surgical removal of the tumor is possible with good long-term results, and this is always the first choice for treatment.  Unfortunately, however, most patients have associated liver disease (that is, cirrhosis) from a long-term condition like hepatitis C or fatty liver disease, and this damage is known to lead to liver cancer.

Living donor liver transplantation presents an alternative to the traditional deceased liver transplantation.

For individuals awaiting a liver, the outcomes may seem bleak — nationwide, more than 14,000 individuals are waiting for a liver transplant, and in 2016, fewer than 7,500 transplants were performed.

Now, patients have another choice: living donor liver transplantation. Patients can get transplanted sooner, and a living donor transplantation typically lasts longer with better outcomes.

Learn more about this procedure.

The surgical team at Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has among the largest collective experience in hepatobiliary surgery in the United States. Since its inception in 1998, the Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation has successfully treated thousands of patients with the most complex presentations of liver disease. Our surgeons have perfected surgical approaches to produce the best outcomes while reducing risk to patients. Our minimally invasive, robotic, and laparoscopic techniques, pioneered at NewYork-Presbyterian, have reduced hospital lengths of stays and minimized postoperative complications.

Catch Early, Watch Closely

• Liver cancer is often asymptomatic until it reaches an advanced stage.

• Through early identification, we are able to track tumors, use less invasive procedures, and improve outcomes while minimizing risk to our patients.

• Frequent monitoring through safe, non- invasive imaging allows our top-ranked diagnostic radiologists to find and track the disease and provide confident recommendations that will guide the plan of care.

Comprehensive and Personalized Management

• No two cancers and no two patients are the same.

• We believe in personalized medicine using advanced techniques, special diagnostic tests on biopsies when needed, and DNA studies to precisely characterize liver tumors and guide treatment.

• Through the use of directed therapy to reduce tumor size or extent of disease, we have been able to prolong the life of people who are not candidates for surgery or transplantation and also make transplantation available to patients previously not eligible because of the stage of their cancer.

• In partnership with our patients, we make decisions that will produce optimal outcomes for their health and quality of life.

Patients with pancreatic diseases and disorders can find expert, compassionate care at the Pancreas Program at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where a team of specialists provide personalized treatments for cancerous and noncancerous conditions, including pancreatitis, pancreatic stones and pancreatic cysts and necrosis and pseudocysts.

In particular, we excel in early diagnosis, minimally invasive interventions, surgical services and palliative treatment that aims to relieve patients’ symptoms and improve their quality of life using cutting edge techniques.

Our approach is collaborative, with a team of physicians — specializing in surgery, advanced endoscopy, medical oncology, radiation oncology, pain management, nutrition, radiology, and pathology — working together alongside nurse practitioners, patient navigators and other medical and support professionals to deliver seamless, comprehensive care.

As part of a large academic medical center, we can also refer patients to experts who can care for other medical issues they may have, such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

Our multidisciplinary approach extends beyond the exam room and into the laboratory, where our physicians search for new and better ways to treat pancreatic diseases and disorders. Their research also provides patients with opportunities to participate in clinical trials, which allows patients to access therapies that may not be available anywhere else.

Education is also a large part of the Pancreas Program. As part of the Center for Advanced Digestive Care, the program regularly provides educational seminars for patients and their families. We also collaborate with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, which funds research and links patients and their families to support and education.

Contact us to learn more about the services we provide at Pancreas Program and to schedule an appointment with one of our experts.