Whatever be the cause of liver insult, generally it takes 2-3 decades for the liver to get swollen (inflamed) and subsequently accumulate scar tissue (Fibrosis) and turn into a stage with significant irreversible damage known as cirrhosis of liver. The point to be noted here is that the years of damage which happen is essentially silent; In contrast, once cirrhosis sets in there is no curative treatment possible with medicines. Liver transplant happens to be the only option. Detecting liver disease in the silent phase can result in complete cure, but this indeed is a challenge. Without symptoms, patients won’t reach the health care facility. Not only that early detection is complete cure, early treatment before permanent damage sets in incurs less cost. A liver transplant can be as costly as 18-20 lakhs, while treating viral hepatitis C which caused cirrhosis is less than Rs.50, 000.Same is applicable to various other causes of liver disease.
