Cleveland Clinic hepatologists specialize in liver disease. They treat a wide range of common and uncommon diseases of the liver and biliary tract including:
- Chronic viral infections of the liver (hepatitis B link and C link)
- Alcoholic liver disease
- Autoimmune liver diseases
- Acute viral hepatitis
- Fatty liver associated with obesity and diabetes
- Inherited disorders (hemochromatosis link, Wilson’s disease and alpha-1- antitrypsin deficiency)
- Primary biliary cirrhosis (diseases of the bile ducts inside and outside of the liver)
- Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis
Pioneering Treatments
Cleveland Clinic specialists were among the first in the United States to investigate the use of interferon for chronic viral hepatitis. Their research remains at the forefront of antiviral therapy advances today as they investigate many new and experimental treatments.
Some of these therapies are available for patients participating in clinical trials.
Cleveland Clinic hepatologists also are well-versed in new innovative and comprehensive therapies for any stage of liver disease including all complications of cirrhosis. As a result, Cleveland Clinic is a regional center for referral of patients dealing with cirrhosis and its complications.
To help patients, Cleveland Clinic physicians:
- Are prepared to receive and evaluate patients with severe liver failure, readying them for liver transplants if necessary.
- Use sophisticated monitoring equipment to improve patient survival in the interim before transplant, particularly in patients with significant tendencies to bleed.
- Collaborate as surgeons work with hepatologists to offer Ohio’s largest volume of liver transplants, including deceased donor and living donor transplantation.
Fighting Liver Disease
Medical, surgical and radiological specialists cooperate closely to diagnose and treat all types of liver disease and disorders, including liver masses.
Cleveland Clinic surgeons have extensive experience with relatively uncommon hepatobiliary procedures including:
- Resection of biliary tract cancer
- Resection of liver cancer
- Ablation of liver cancers using a radio frequency probe
Cleveland Clinic radiologists offer a sophisticated array of diagnostic and therapeutic options for liver disease. They offer a transjugular intrahepatic portal systemic shunt (TIPS), which is a procedure in which a stent (a tubular device) is placed in the middle of the liver to relieve the pressure in the portal vein. They also employ an approach to treating liver cancers called chemoembolization.
