What is the role of the liver?
Miscellaneous
Savannah Surgeon Dr. Russell Kirks explains treatment if the liver is damaged and ways to prevent that from happening
It’s a three pound organ nestled above our stomach that you probably don’t think too often about. But you may be surprised that the liver has hundreds of functions so keeping it healthy is important.
The liver is located in the upper right part of the abdominal cavity, under the diaphragm and on top of the stomach, right kidney and intestines. The liver is a dark reddish-brown, triangle-shaped organ that is divided into the right and left lobes. 
Dr. Russell Kirks is a hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgeon with Metro Surgical. Hepatobiliary surgery treats benign and malignant problems of the liver, pancreas and bile duct.
“I’d say globally speaking, the liver is part of your digestive system,” explains Dr. Kirks. “It filters nutrients, secrets bile and makes most of the proteins in your blood.”
The liver also works with the pancreas, gallbladder and intestines to digest, absorb and process food, liquids (think about your alcohol consumption) and medications. It makes proteins important for blood clotting and other functions. In addition, it stores iron and processes hemoglobin for distribution of its iron content, just to name a few of the liver’s functions.
Because it works so hard, your liver can easily be damaged or suffer disease. There are many types of liver disease such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer.
Recognizing a problem with your liver is not always easy. You may notice changes in your bowel habits or experience abdominal pain. Jaundice – skin or eyes that appear yellowish – is also a sign you may have a problem with your liver.
If you experience any of these symptoms, you should see your doctor, Dr. Kirks recommends. “I don’t think that anyone is going to ever penalize a patient for coming forward to evaluate a complaint. You should feel free and safe to talk to your healthcare provider.”
Problems with your liver can be detected through blood work or imaging.
Treating your liver
If it is discovered you have a problem with your liver, there are many treatment options, depending on the diagnosis. For example, chronic hepatitis B is typically treated with antiviral medication. There’s now medication available to treat hepatitis C, something we do right here at St. Joseph’s/Candler. Identifying viral hepatitis C infection is very important because we now have excellent treatment options. Routine screening for hepatitis C is recommended for everyone in the Baby Boom generation.
Related Article: St. Joseph’s/Candler pharmacists answer four common questions about hepatitis C
If you have liver cancer, you may need chemotherapy, regional therapy (think chemotherapy injected into the liver via its arteries) or surgery. If surgery is needed, there are many options, and Dr. Kirks looks at each individual patient to determine the best one.
“There are multiple approaches to liver surgery, but it’s really all about what needs to be done for that particular patient, and how much that patient’s anatomy and physiology will allow us to do so safely,” Dr. Kirks says. “Almost every operation is at least a little bit different.”
Take for example liver resection, which is the surgical removal of a portion of the liver. Depending on the patient, Dr. Kirks may do this as an open surgery, a laparoscopic (minimally-invasive) surgery or less frequently robotically.
He often uses an intraoperative ultrasound to find tumors and identify their relationship to critical structures within the liver such as blood vessels and bile ducts. Intraoperative ultrasound is also used to target tumors for ablation, meaning to kill the tumor in place. This is sometimes a better option for patients who are not candidates for removal of a large portion of the liver.
“Technology allows us to extend certain cancer-related options to people who would not be resection candidates, specifically thinking about liver resection,” Dr. Kirks says. “Also, for people who have liver dysfunction, a liver resection is not always the right option for them, and we can treat some tumors just as adequately with thermal ablation as we can with resection.”
Just as the liver has many functions, if it suffers disease, there are many options to treat it. The liver is also fascinating in that it can actually regrow.
“There’s so much we can do to the liver in order to change its shape and change how healthy the liver is, to be able to take out advanced tumors,” Dr. Kirks says. “You can make half of the liver grow so that you can remove the half of the liver occupied with cancer. The liver is a pretty remarkable organ in that it regenerates pound for pound whatever is cut out. That allows us to really tailor our operation to the exact problem of the patient.”
Protecting the liver
It’s important to do what you can now to help protect your liver. Try to:
- Limit alcohol intake
- Follow a healthy diet
- Don’t overdo acetaminophen
- Take all your medications as directed
- Exercise regularly
- Maintain a healthy body weight
Related Article: Can you take too much acetaminophen?
“If you have an evaluation showing you have some type of problem, that should not be brushed under the table and should be discussed with your primary care doctor as well as a nutritionist to see if there are aspects of your lifestyle that can be altered to improve the health of your liver,” says Dr. Kirks. “If additional evaluation or an intervention is needed on your liver, the team at St. Joseph’s/Candler is here to help."