Expert care for your liver health
Did you know that Texas has one of the highest rates of liver disease and liver cancer in the country?
Baylor Scott & White Health provides expertise in liver disease diagnosis and treatment of all liver disorders, including liver cancer and liver disease that may require transplant. With hepatologists (liver disease specialists) on the medical staffs at Baylor University Medical Center, part of Baylor Scott & White Health and Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center – Fort Worth, we offer hepatology services in Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano and Austin, as well as at 10 outreach clinics across the Southwest region, allowing patients with liver disease to access our subspecialized experts in convenient locations to their home. Our comprehensive and experienced hepatology team supports patients through a multidisciplinary team that is closely integrated with the Baylor Scott & White Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute.
Our liver disease, liver cancer and transplant program restores meaningful life through proven innovations in liver disease management, research, education and organ transplantation.
Ask the expert: Understanding liver health
The first step to better liver health is understanding the liver’s function in the body and what causes liver disease. Hear from Baylor Scott & White’s chief of hepatology and liver transplantation, Sumeet Asrani, MD, in this video.
Liver conditions treated
Liver disease can be either chronic or acute. Most are chronic, which means the progression of the disease occurs over time and leads to liver scarring called cirrhosis. When extensive scarring develops, the liver stops functioning and may lead to cancer or the need for a liver transplant.
Acute liver disease typically occurs in a person with no preexisting liver disease, and loss of liver function happens rapidly—in days or weeks. The liver injury is commonly caused by hepatitis or drugs, such as acetaminophen.
- Elevated liver enzymes
- Viral hepatitis
- Liver tumors and cysts
- Fatty liver disease
- Liver failure
- Autoimmune hepatitis
Liver disease treatment options
Acute liver disease symptoms are best treated in the intensive care unit of a hospital that can perform a liver transplant if needed. Medications can sometimes reverse the acute liver injury when caused by acetaminophen overdose or other toxins. In other cases of acute liver failure, treatment will control complications and give the liver time to heal.
Chronic liver disease is treated depending on the diagnosis. Fatty Liver disease can be managed with lifestyle modifications that include improved diet, exercise and stopping alcohol consumption. Medications are effective in treating viral hepatitis and autoimmune diseases. Alcohol-related liver disease improves with abstinence from alcohol.
- Liver cancer patients are managed by a team with hepatopancreatobiliary expertise. Liver cancer treatment options could include surgical resection
- Ablation
- Radiation bead therapy
- Radiosurgery
- Cirrhosis
- Proton therapy
- Chemoembolization
- Immunotherapy
Specialized centers for liver disease
Liver and Pancreas Disease Center
The Liver and Pancreas Disease Center is dedicated to treating patients with liver and pancreas cancer or chronic pancreatitis. Supported by a multidisciplinary team, each patient’s tumor management and plan of care is personalized across a full spectrum of treatment options and innovative research clinical trials.
Learn more about our advanced liver and pancreas disease services
Alcoholic Liver Disease Clinic
Alcohol is the leading cause of liver disease in the US. The Alcoholic Liver Disease Clinic combines the expertise of hepatologists, surgeons, psychologists, social workers and nurses to offer management of alcohol-associated cirrhosis, treatment for alcohol use disorder and transplant consideration for highly selected patients.
Research
Baylor Scott & White Research Institute maintains a comprehensive research portfolio designed to study and expand options for management of all aspects of liver disease and explore innovations in abdominal transplant surgery, patient recovery and outcomes. This work includes studies focused on improving quality of life before and after a liver transplant, expanding the organ donor pool and investigational research for early diagnosis and treatment of a myriad of liver conditions, including liver cancer, fatty liver disease and alcohol use disorder.
Learn more about the Baylor Scott & White Research Institute