Liver Center
The Liver Center at the Massachusetts General Hospital Digestive Healthcare Center provides expert consultation and ongoing care for patients with acute and chronic liver conditions.
- Phone: 617-724-6006
Expert Care for All Types of Liver ConditionsOur physicians are internationally recognized for their expertise in treating patients with all types of liver conditions, including the most challenging such as end-stage disease, hepatocellular cancer and liver metastases from other cancers.
A Collaborative Approach to Liver CareUsing state-of-the-art technology and leading-edge medical and surgical interventions, we provide advanced and timely diagnosis and individualized, ongoing care for patients.
Each patient’s treatment is provided by a personal care team of liver specialists who meet regularly to discuss individual patient cases and treatment plans. The team works with both the patient and the referring physician to coordinate a care plan designed to offer the best outcomes.
The patient’s care team includes:
- Hepatologists
- Gastroenterologists
- Gastrointestinal, vascular and interventional radiologists
- Interventional endoscopists
- Medical oncologists
- Radiation oncologists
- Liver surgeons
- Transplant surgeons
- Liver pathologists
- Nurse practitioners and oncology nurses
- Nutritionists
- Psychiatrists
- Social workers
We treat and manage fatty liver disease through the Weight Center.
Specialized Treatment Begins With Advanced Diagnostics
We offer inpatients a quick turnaround and expert analysis of their test findings, 24 hours a day, for a range of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Our endoscopists are available around the clock to confer with referring physicians.
Our diagnostic radiology team is composed of dedicated imaging specialists whose practice focuses specifically on GI scans. They are nationally recognized for expertise in all forms of sophisticated imaging, including:
- CT - CAT scans
- PET and fused PET-CT scans
- MRI scans with diffusions-weighted images
- Liver biopsies under ultrasound or CT guidance
- Bile duct imaging
- GI interventional procedures, including biliary drainage
Minimally Invasive Treatment Options
Whenever possible, patients undergo minimally invasive treatment, which has the benefit of faster recovery times, smaller surgical scars and reduced risk. Minimally invasive surgical procedures include:
- Liver resections
- Radiofrequency ablation of liver tumors
- Laparoscopic cancer staging
We provide nonsurgical liver cancer treatments such as radiofrequency ablation of liver tumors, through the Mass General Cancer Center.
We were one of the first hospitals in the United States to perform radiofrequency ablation of a liver tumor, a procedure that destroys liver tumors by heating and killing cancer cells.
Pioneering Advanced Treatment Options
We were among the first to introduce antiviral therapies for hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) infection.
Liver Center patients also have access to novel treatments through ongoing research initiatives, including:
- Genetic tests to identify cirrhosis patients at higher risk for cancer
- Therapies for acute HCV that offer very high success rates
- Statin drugs as a potential substitute for antiviral drugs
- New antiviral drugs that increase cure rates for HBV and HCV
- Clinical trials of new medicines like Mucomyst, which can improve outcomes for patients with acute liver failure
- Extracorporeal liver assist devices, which perform the liver’s function outside of the body, to help bridge patients with acute liver failure to transplantation
Learn more about the liver medical program in the Division of Gastroenterology.
State-of-the-Art Transplant CareWorking within the Mass General Transplant Center, our transplant surgeons perform all types of liver transplants, including:
- Deceased donor
- Living donor
- Split liver, which involves taking a liver from a living donor and dividing it between an adult and pediatric patient
- Domino, a procedure in which a patient receives a liver that is healthier than their own from a patient who has received a transplant
One Call Coordinates Care
We provide patients and referring physicians with an experienced access coordinator, a clinician who is available to assess patients’ needs, coordinate appointments and begin the appropriate testing regimen.
Contact the Liver Center’s access coordinator
One of the largest liver programs in New England, we have in-depth experience treating patients with all types of liver conditions, including:
- Acute and fulminant liver failure
- Alcoholic liver disease
- Autoimmune liver disease
- Cholestatic liver disease, caused by injury to the bile ducts
- Chronic viral hepatitis
- End-stage liver disease
- Fatty liver disease
- Hepatocellular carcinoma and other primary cancers of the liver, bile ducts and gallbladder
- Hereditary liver diseases
- Primary and secondary liver cancers
Evaluation of patients with colon cancer liver metastases and cancers of the pancreas gallbladder or bile ducts takes place in a multidisciplinary clinic, with simultaneous input from specialists in transplant surgery, liver surgery, vascular radiology, GI interventional radiology, hepatology, radiation oncology and medical oncology.
A Dedicated Referral Line for Physicians and Patients
We provide patients and referring physicians with an experienced access coordinator, a clinician who helps assess patient needs, coordinate appointments and begin the appropriate testing regimen. Contact the Liver Center’s access coordinator
Calls will be returned within 24 hours.
Comprehensive Liver CareOur approach to care ensures each patient benefits from a coordinated, individualized treatment plan developed by specialists who focus on treating liver conditions. Our services include:
- New antiviral therapies
- Liver transplantation
- Clinical trials of the latest cancer therapies
- Medical management of and treatment for cirrhosis side effects
- Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunts (TIPS), treatment for complications of severe liver disease
- Hepatic resection, removal of part of the liver in patients with tumors
- Percutaneous ablation of tumors (using ethanol or radiofrequency), incision-free treatment for tumors
- Transarterial chemoembolization for hepatic tumors
- Image-directed biopsy, targeted imaging technique to diagnose tumors
Together with the Transplant Center and the Cancer Center, we provide a full range of treatment options and strive to offer the best possible outcomes for our patients.
Unmatched Experience in Hepatobiliary CareWe have one of the highest volumes of referrals for outpatient hepatology visits in the Northeast.
Our surgeons are nationally recognized experts in treating hepatobiliary disease, which includes diseases of the liver, gall bladder and bile ducts. Our surgeons perform some of the highest volumes of liver resections in New England.
Learn more about liver surgery in the Department of Surgery
Clinical Research Studies & TrialsOur physicians are active in clinical trials and research studies related to liver conditions, allowing us to bring our patients promising new treatments as quickly as possible.
Mass General is one of nine centers nationwide to participate in a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study of antiviral therapy for chronic Hepatitis C, The HALT-C (Hepatitis C Antiviral Longterm Treatment against Cirrhosis) trial, which seeks therapies for patients who have not responded to previous treatment.
Patients interested in participating in clinical trials can browse online for open trials.
Alcohol-Induced Liver Disease
Alcohol-induced liver disease, as the name implies, is caused by excessive consumption of alcohol and is a common, but preventable, disease.
Alcoholic Hepatitis
Hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver, resulting in liver cell damage and destruction. Alcoholic hepatitis is a complex problem and is a precursor to chronic liver disease and cirrhosis.
Autoimmune Hepatitis
Hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver, resulting in liver cell damage and destruction. In autoimmune hepatitis, the body's own immune system destroys the cells of the liver. It is a chronic inflammatory liver disease with no known cause.
Chronic Liver Disease / Cirrhosis
Chronic liver disease is marked by the gradual destruction of liver tissue over time. Several liver diseases fall under this category, including cirrhosis of the liver and fibrosis of the liver.
Congenital Liver Defects
Defects of the liver at birth usually affect the bile ducts. Though rare, some congenital liver defects include the following: biliary atresia, a condition in which the bile ducts are absent or have developed abnormally, and choledochal cyst - a malformation of the hepatic duct that can obstruct flow of bile in infants.
Drug-Induced Hepatitis
Hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver, resulting in liver cell damage and destruction. Drug-induced hepatitis is rare and is caused by toxic exposure to certain medications, vitamins, herbal remedies, or food supplements.
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is a highly contagious and sometimes serious liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus.
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is a blood-borne microorganism transmitted by exposure to the hepatitis B virus through infectious body fluids.
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C (once called non-A, non-B hepatitis) is a liver disease caused by a recently identified blood-borne virus.
Liver Tumors
Tumors are abnormal masses of tissue that form when cells begin to reproduce at an increased rate. The liver can grow both non-cancerous (benign) and cancerous (malignant) tumors.
Other Liver Disorders
An autoimmune disorder is any reaction or attack of a person's immune system against its own organs and tissues.
Viral Hepatitis Overview
Hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver, resulting in liver cell damage and destruction.
The following related clinical trials and research studies are currently seeking participants at Massachusetts General Hospital. Search for clinical trials and studies in another area of interest.
Liver Center
Blake 455 Fruit Street
Boston, MA 02114
Phone: 617-724-6006
Email: kladetto@partners.org
Hours: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday
E-mail our access coordinator, Katherine Ladetto, NP, to begin the appointment process.
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Our approach to patient care brings together a team of digestive health specialists who work together seamlessly to create a unique treatment plan for every patient
