Am I going to die soon

[ashb7976]

I'm 33, I was born with biliary atresia, and at 7 weeks they took out my gallbladder and made a Roux En Y. At 16 I had 5 hernia's and an obstruction and I had my appendix removed.  I now have Secondary sclerosing cholangitis , and esophageal varices , which started in December 2011, and I lost 7 units of blood, very close to death I guess, and three days ago I was admitted back in the hospital for more bleeding..  I've been in and out of hospitals my whole life and I can't remember ever not being in pain, and 6 months ago my eyes turned yellow and are always yellow now. In the past they would the jaundice would go away.  I used to be a strength trainer, but what can I do now? And will I live long enough to get a Liver transplant?

[Thomas D Schiano, MD]

i think that you will do extremely well after a liver transplant if need be.  I recommend that you be seen in a liver transplant center--if bleeding is the major issue then a TIPS may be an alternative option.  This may not be possible if your bilirubin level is too high.

[CherryCapone]

I am the youngest liver transplant survivor, i had my operation done in 1988. The drs said i wasnt suppose to live past 5yrs old. But this Sept i will be 26yrs old in Sept,My real name is Che'rea... I had biliary atresia when i was 4months old. Good luck ashb. Im praying for You....

[Thomas D Schiano, MD]

bands are to be placed on varices in the esophagus if they are enlarged.  TIPS is a shunt that radiologists place within the liver through a blood vessel and it decrease the pressure within the liver

[ashb7976]

Thank you for answering.  I'm seeing Dr. Fred Fricke right now and he's a great doctor, actually I've been seeing him for the last 14 years.  My spleen is very enlarged, and he said today that scar tissue is all through my liver which is causing Cirrhosis and the blood that is supposed to go to my liver is getting backed up which is making my spleen bigger.  He now wants a liver biopsy done and he wants to put bands around where it goes to the heart, because if it backs up to much, he doesn't want it to burst around that area.  And I wasn't sure , but what is TIPS?