Information for Patients

The SWLU is dedicated to improving patient education, to help you better understand your liver condition. We continue to develop our own patient education material but have also included useful links to websites. There is further information available via the Peninsula Liver and Hepatobiliary Cancer Centre and also via our South West Liver Unit Facebook group. 

Covid update

Please see the recent patient letter regarding important information about treatments for coronavirus (update 31/3/22) for higher risk liver patients (those with liver cirrhosis or requiring immunosuppression).

 

Patient Information Leaflets

• General Liver Information (kindly the British Liver Trust have allowed us to use their leaflets)

  • Alcohol brief advice

  • Autoimmune Hepatitis (BLT)

  • Alcohol and Liver Disease (BLT)

  • Budd Chiari Syndrome (BLT)

  • Cirrhosis (BLT)

  • Diet and Liver Disease (BLT)

  • Gilbert's Syndrome (BLT)

  • Haemochromatosis (BLT)

  • Hepatitis A (BLT)

  • Hepatitis B (BLT)

  • Hepatitis C (BLT)

  • Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy (BLT)

  • Jaundice clinic pathway

  • Liver Cancer (BLT)

  • Liver Transplant Assessment

  • Living with Liver Disease (BLT)

  • Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

  • NAFLD: How you can reduce the risk for your liver and for other health issues (EASL)

  • Treating NAFLD with diet and physical activity (BLT) 

  • Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (BLT)

 

• Liver Related Medications

  • Azathioprine
  • Mycophenolate
  • Tacrolimus 

 

• Liver Related Procedures

  • Abdominal Drain Procedure (Paracentesis) 

  • Having a DEXA scan (Healthy Bones Team)

  • Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography - ERCP

  • Having a Fibroscan

  • Hepatocellular cancer (HCC) surveillance - what to expect

  • Microwave ablation of liver lesions

  • Chemoembolisation of liver lesions - TACE  

  • Liver surgery for primary liver cancer (HCC)

  • Ultrasound guided Liver biopsy

  • Ultrasound guided Liver biopsy aftercare

  • Transjugular Liver Biopsy

 

 

Useful Websites

• General Liver Information

  • British Liver Trust

  • NHS choices

  • Alcohol Concern

  • Digest This! (These videos are aimed mainly at health professionals and are therefore slightly technical, but are very informative)

 

• National Patient Support Groups

  • Alpha1 Antitrypsin UK Support Group

  • Alcoholics Anonymous

  • Cancer Research UK (Liver cancer)

  • Haemochromatosis Society

  • The Hepatitis C Trust 

  • Liver4life

  • MacMillan Cancer Support

  • Marie Curie

  • NHS Blood and Transplant

  • Primary Biliary Cholangitis Foundation

  • PSC Support UK

 

• Local Patient Support Groups

  • South West Liver Buddies

  • Mustard Tree (MacMillan Cancer Support Centre)

  • Plymouth Drug and Alcohol Services (Harbour)

  • One You Plymouth

  • Livewell Southwest

 

• International & National Associations

  • American Association for the Study of the Liver 

  • British Association for the Study of the Liver 

  • British Society of Gastroenterology

  • European Association for the Study of the Liver

 

Patient Questionnaires

• Primary Biliary Cholangitis

  • Virtual PBC Patient Questionnaire

• Hepatology Service

  • Hepatology Clinic Patient Experience Questionnaire

• Hepatitis C

  • National Hepatitis C Patient Survey

 

The information and links provided here are provided with best intent. The SWLU will endeavour to keep the information up to date but would like patients to be aware that occasionally the advice may have changed to that provided. Universitiy Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust cannot take responsiblity for the material provided via the external links.