Best Doctors in India for Alcoholic Hepatitis Treatment

Profile Highlights:

  • Dr. Aniel Malhotra is a renowned eye surgeon in Delhi and has experience of nearly 32 years in the field.
  • Since 1996 he has been working as a Senior Consultant at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi.
  • Dr. Malhotra specializes in squint surgery, LASIK Surgery, and cataract surgery. Besides these, some significant services offered by the doctor are Cornea transplant, retinal detachment surgery, Diabetic Retinopathy, DALK, DSEK, and Cosmetic Eye Surgery.
  • He got a fellowship under Padma Shree Dr. S.S. Badrinath from renowned eye hospital, Shankar Netralaya, Chennai.

Profile Highlights:

  • Dr. Shibal Bhartiya is an eye surgeon, who specializes in glaucoma and ocular surface diseases.
  • Dr. Bhartiya is the Executive Editor of ‘Current Glaucoma Practice’, which is the official journal of the International Society of Glaucoma Surgery. She is also the Editor in Chief of Clinical and Experimental Vision and Eye Research. She is the founder-director of Medequill, a language editing service that also provides web content for medical services. Dr. Bhartiya has more than ten textbooks on glaucoma and ophthalmology to her credit.

Profile Highlights:

  • Dr. T S Kler is undoubtedly one of the best vascular surgeons not only in India but also abroad. He has performed more than 25,000 Surgeries in his life which makes him stand where he is.
  • He is a pioneer in electrophysiology & he established the first dedicated Electrophysiology department in India at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute.
  • Dr. T S Kler initiated a radio Frequency Ablations programme at Escorts in 1993, one of the first of its kind in India. He was the first doctor in India to implant an ICD, CRT-P & CRT-D.

Profile Highlights:

  • Dr. Indrish Bhatia is a well-known ophthalmologist with a rich experience of 12 years across a host of leading medical institutions under his belt and currently works at FMRI as a Senior Consultant.
  • Throughout his career, he has performed over 1000 vitreoretinal surgeries. He has also given over 6000 intravitreal injections. He also has a special interest in diabetic retinopathy.

Profile Highlights:

  • Dr. Rashmi Pyasi is an expert in GI, bariatric, and laparoscopic surgery with over 26 years of experience.
  • Her accomplishment of performing over 1600 MIPHs is exceptional, and she has a great deal of experience with scar-free, single-incision laparoscopic gallbladder surgery. She has also led the way in groundbreaking work in the superspecialty of coloproctology.
  • She is also an expert in addressing female-specific surgical issues, including weight loss surgery, laparoscopic (incisional) hernia procedures, and breast abnormalities.

Profile Highlights:

  • Dr. Sunil Prakash is one of the best nephrologists in Delhi.  Services offered by him are the diagnosis and treatment of urinary infections, nephritis, kidney stones, chronic kidney disease, and cystic kidney diseases stand out.
  • He also guides, indicate,s and monitors the treatment of hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and kidney transplantation.
  • The key specialties of Dr. Sunil Prakash are Dialysis and Renal Failure. Today, he is considered one of the top nephrologists in Delhi for kidney transplants.

Profile Highlights:

  • Dr. D K Bhargava is a Medical Gastroenterologist working at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi.
  • He has 45 years of experience in his field.
  • Dr. Bhargava was a Professor of Gastroenterology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi formerly.
  • Some of the services he provides are Colonoscopy, Gastroenteritis Treatment, Acidity Treatment, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment.
  • Exceptionally qualified Dr. D K Bhargava has received the Padma Shri Award and Dr. B C Roy National Award from the President of India.
  • He has published more than 150 articles, papers, and journals throughout his career.
  • He is a member of the American Gastroenterological Association, Indian Society of Gastroenterology and American College of Gastroenterology.

Best Hospitals in India for Alcoholic Hepatitis Treatment

ALCOHOLIC HEPATITIS

Alcoholic hepatitis is a liver infection, which is mainly caused by frequent, heavy use of alcohol. Fat can build up in the liver cells, which might lead to inflammation as well as scarring of the liver.

Alcoholic hepatitis might be mild or severe. A patient might even need a liver transplant if proper treatment is not provided, or if they don’t stop consumption of alcohol.

It is also notable that all heavy drinkers don’t develop this condition, and sometimes this condition even develops in people who drink moderately. However, if you are diagnosed with this condition, it is important for you to quit drinking alcohol. People who continue drinking alcohol might face a huge risk of serious liver damage as well as death.

Symptoms

Depending on the amount of damage to the liver, the symptoms can vary. If you are having a mild form of the disease, you might not even experience any symptoms at all. However, as the damage continues to grow, you might experience the following:

  • Changes in appetite
  • Dry mouth
  • Weight loss
  • Pain or swelling in the abdomen
  • Jaundice, or yellowing of the skin or eyes
  • Fever
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Easy bleeding or bruising
  • Changes in your mental state, including confusion
  • Fatigue

 

The symptoms of this condition are similar to those caused by a few other health conditions. Therefore, if you develop any of these symptoms, it is best to get a proper diagnosis as well as begin treatment.

Causes & risk factors

Alcoholic hepatitis generally develops when the alcohol you drink causes damage to your liver. However, it is not clear why alcohol does this damages only to some heavy drinkers.

Few factors that are known to play a role in this condition include:

  • The body’s process that breaks down alcohol produces some toxic chemicals
  • These chemicals can trigger inflammation that can destroy the liver cells
  • Thus, over time, scars replace healthy liver tissue, thus interfering with the function of the liver
  • This irreversible scarring, which is also termed cirrhosis, is the final stage of alcoholic liver disease

If you have hepatitis C and continue to drink, even moderately, you are more likely to develop cirrhosis.

Some heavy drinkers are also malnourished because they don’t eat a proper balanced diet. Alcohol and its byproducts also prevent the body from absorbing nutrition properly. Lack of nutrition can contribute to liver cell damage.

Some other risk factors that can lead to this condition include:

  • Your sex- Women are usually at a higher risk of developing alcoholic hepatitis since the way alcohol is processed in women is different.

 

  • Binge drinking- Having over five drinks within two hours for men and four or more for women can increase the risk of alcoholic hepatitis.

 

  • Obesity- Heavy drinkers who are overweight are also more likely to develop alcoholic hepatitis and to progress from that condition to cirrhosis.

 

  • Race and ethnicity- Hispanic and Negroid people might be at higher risk of alcoholic hepatitis.

 

  • Genetic factors- According to studies, there may be a genetic component in alcohol-induced liver disease. However, it is difficult to separate genetic and environmental factors.

Diagnosis

If you are showing symptoms of alcoholic hepatitis, your doctor will first inquire about your medical history and alcohol consumption. Next, he/she will perform a physical exam to see if you have an enlarged liver or spleen. They might also need a few more tests to confirm your diagnosis, such as:

  • Complete blood count (CBC)
  • Liver function test
  • Ultrasound of the liver
  • Abdominal CT scan
  • Blood clotting tests

 

In some cases, a liver biopsy might also be needed to confirm the diagnosis of alcoholic hepatitis. A liver biopsy requires your doctor to remove a tissue sample from your liver, which is then tested in the lab. This method helps to show the severity and type of liver disease.

Treatment

Stopping alcohol consumption is the most important treatment for alcoholic hepatitis. There is no cure for this condition, but treatment can help in reducing or eliminating symptoms, or stopping its progression.

It is also important to note that scarring of the liver is permanent, but treatment can aim to restore as much function as possible.

Dietary changes

Your doctor might also recommend dietary changes, vitamin supplements, or a focused diet plan to correct the imbalance of nutrients in the body.

Medication

Doctors might also prescribe medicines to prevent inflammation of the liver.

Liver transplant

In severe cases, the only chance for survival may be a liver transplant. Unfortunately, in such cases, the process of finding a donor can be long and complicated.

The best hope of recovery is to be aware of the signs and symptoms as well as to reduce, manage, or if possible, completely stop consumption of alcohol.

Complications

Alcoholic hepatitis might lead to severe other complications such as:

  • Enlarged veins (varices)- In this condition, blood that is unable to flow freely through the portal vein, can back up into other blood vessels in your esophagus or stomach.
  • Hepatic encephalopathy- This condition can be caused by the buildup of toxins if your damaged liver is unable to remove all the toxins from your body. It involves confusion, drowsiness, and slurred speech.
  • Ascites- Ascites is a condition in which the fluid that accumulates in the abdomen may get infected and thus, require treatment with antibiotics. Although this condition is not life-threatening, it can be a sign of advanced alcoholic hepatitis, or cirrhosis.
  • Kidney failure- A damaged liver affects blood flow to the kidneys, thus resulting in kidney failure.
  • Cirrhosis- The scarring of the liver might lead to liver failure.

Prevention

Alcoholic hepatitis might be prevented if you take the following steps:

  • Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all- For healthy adults, moderate drinking means no more than one drink a day for women of all ages and men older than 65, and not over two drinks a day for men aged 65 and younger. However, if you prevent all alcohol, it is a certain way to prevent this condition.

 

  • Check before mixing medications and alcohol- Ask your doctor if it’s safe to drink alcohol while you are taking medications. Consider reading the warning labels on over-the-counter medications as well. Don’t drink alcohol when you are taking medications that warn of complications when combined with alcohol.

 

  • Protect yourself from hepatitis C- Hepatitis C is an infectious liver disease that is caused by a virus. If it is left untreated, it may lead to cirrhosis. If you are having hepatitis C and you consume alcohol, you’re generally more likely to develop cirrhosis than if you don’t drink.

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