Liver Transplant Surgery Guide

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How can I take care of myself when I go home?

Eating a healthy diet by following Canada’s Food Guide will help give you a balance of protein, fats, and carbohydrates and help you to maintain a healthy body weight.
Avoid eating junk food
It is not uncommon to gain weight after your transplant. Losing weight is as challenge for transplant patients as it is for everyone.

Remember:
You cannot eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juices after transplant. It interferes with the absorption of your immunosuppressive medications

You might get tired easily. Listen to your body and don't do more than you can handle.
Our transplant psychiatry team is here if you need help with the following:
1. Anxiety and depression
2. Smoking cessation
3. Stress management
4. Support and coping
The Transplant Psychiatry Program offers a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, please call: 416 340 4452 or fill out the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program application form.
If you are looking for counseling, referrals, support groups or a mentor program please talk to a transplant social worker, transplant coordinator or your family doctor.

Don't lift heavy things for 3 months after your operation. Anything over 5 kilograms or 10 lbs. is too heavy.
Do not perform strong exercises such as: sit ups or strong upper body exercises such as: push ups, pull ups and pushing or pulling heavy objects.
You can use small weights of 1 to 2 pounds to increase arm strength but be careful not to strain your shoulder joints.
Lifting larger amounts may result in stress to your incision and can affect your healing, and may cause a hernia in the incision.
Please do not lift your child. Some problem solving will be required to work around this.
Walking is the best exercise. Try to increase the distance and speed you walk.
In winter, many people walk in malls to avoid icy surfaces and cold conditions or they use a treadmill if they have access to one.

Don't take anti-inflammatory medication such as Motrin, Advil® or Ibuprofen for 2-4 weeks after the operation, unless your surgeon has told you to continue taking them.
Don't take aspirin (ASA) for pain, it can make your blood difficult to clot and can irritate your stomach.
Please consult your transplant team for direction in managing any cold symptoms.
Tylenol in small doses is safe to take for minor pain, headaches when necessary. The maximum amount of this drug in 24 hours is 2000 mg (equal to 6 of the regular 325 mg strength or 4 of the extra 500 mg strength)
You cannot have any type of live vaccine as it could be harmful to you. This includes measles, mumps, rubella, shingles vaccine and yellow fever vaccine.
If you have diarrhea we do not recommend that you take antidiarrheal medications such as Imodium. There are many reasons to have diarrhea and the cause of these needs to be assessed first before using these medications

Do not drive for 6 or 8 weeks after operation.
Do not take long car trips. If you are travelling a long distance, stop every 2 hours to urinate.
Discuss readiness for driving at your clinic appointment.
You must not drive while taking narcotic pain medication. You need to be sufficiently strong, and flexible enough to move your leg and foot on the pedals, and be able to check your blind spot.
If your driving license was suspended pre-transplant, it may take several weeks or months to re-activate your license once you are fit enough to drive.
Always wear your seatbelt when you are driving or riding in a vehicle. If the belt causes discomfort where it crosses your incision, place a towel under the belt.
We will not provide letters to excuse you from wearing your seatbelt.
You can use public transportation any time after your transplant.
It is best that you do not travel by plane for one year after your transplant. Please talk to your transplant team about your travel plans to make sure it is safe for you to travel.