I am a mother to a son with Hepatitis C

[dprincess909]

My son has Hepatitis C/ and he was going to go on the treatments, but his liver biopsy results were activity grade 2-3/4 with a stage 4 fibrosis, consistent with cirrhosis. Does anyone know what this mean, does this mean his liver is too bad along to start his treatment for hep C?

[child24angel]

I'm a mother also to a son that had HCV.
Does your son have Decompensated or compensated cirrhosis?
so many questions here to be asked and addressed.

Ask his doctors, get copies of everything, in addition , please
get him to a good hepatologist.  Ask questions and make sure you
both understand the answers.  

Good luck to you and lyour son
Hugs
Elaine

[justme53]

Your son's results are pretty similar to mine one year ago...Stage 4 Grade 3. If he's still well compensated, treatment is an option even with cirrhosis, but much of it is dependent on alot of your son's medical tests and hopefully his doctor will be forthcoming with this info.

One thing I'd like to stress is the importance of a hepatologist at this point and an aggressive one at that. They are most able to design a treatment plan that will best serve your son's needs. It may mean tweaking with doses, lengthening treament, just to name a few, but he needs these people with expertise in treating advanced cases for the best chance of succeeding.

Good luck to both of you as you forge ahead............Pam

[Bill1954]

OK, it's being stubborn. You'll have to search Child-Turcotte-Pugh for details.

Best of luck to all--

Bill

[Bill1954]

Darn filters; let’s try this:

http://www.*****************/gastroenterology/scores/child.htm

[Bill1954]

Hi,

So sorry to hear of your son’s predicament.

To answer your question, he might be able to do treatment, depending on how far along his cirrhosis is.

We have a number of members here that have and are treating with stage 4 disease; some of them successfully. The determining factor is whether his liver is still compensated, or if he’s developed signs of decompensation. There are a few situations where decompensated patients have undergone treatment successfully, but it can be dangerous to attempt; it can potentially cause further decompensation and possibly fulminant liver failure sometimes.

There are different methods used to assess cirrhosis; one is the Child-Turcotte-Pugh scale:

http://www.*****************/gastroenterology/scores/child.htm

As well as the MELD score; I’ll link a MELD calculator here:

http://www.unos.org/resources/MeldPeldCalculator.asp?index=98

He needs to discuss his options with his physician; and choose an appropriate course of action. Has he been considered for transplant at this point? Classis signs of decompensation are edema, ascites (swollen abdomen), esophageal varicies (bleeds from the throat), etc.

Welcome to the discussion group,

Bill