Quality of Life after Liver Transplantation

The results of liver transplantation are now well established interms of graft and patient survival, but there is surprisingly little data on thequality of life attained. The authors mailed questionnaires to 32 consecutive adultliver recipients to assess their quality of life. Thirty-one patients (14 males, 17females) with a mean age of 37 years (range 16 to 55), responded (97%). Themean time since transplantation was 19 months (range three to 50). Eighty percent of the respondents functioned at normal or near normal levels as measuredby the Karnofsky Performance Index. Sixty-five per cent (20 patients) indicatedthey were currently able to live and function as they did before they became illwith liver disease. The respondents' scores were similar to normative scores onall of the following measures: life satisfaction, well being, and general affect(Campbell); and material well being, personal growth, marital relations, familyrelations and friendships (Evans). It is concluded that liver transplantationrestores physical, mental and social well being in most patients with endstageliver disease