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Liver

Abdominal Wall Transplant

AliEm14Expert
Transplant Patient
December 12, 2022 in Liver

Some of you may have noticed my absense, or remember when I was discussing my abdominal wall issues. At the end of November, I underwent a complete abdominal wall reconstruction and abdominal wall transplant.

The surgery went well, I'm almost a month into recovery now. All my doctors told me this would be one of the hardest surgeries to recover from, short of maybe a liver transplant, and I would agree that it's been insanely hard. My surgeon, who is one of the top trauma and complex abdominal repair surgeons in Canada, went in with the intent of possibly repairing my abdominal wall, but that plan was quickly discarded when they discovered nothing salvagable. From hipbones to ribs, on both sides, they ended up replacing fascia and muscle, and rebuilding me an entirely new abdominal wall using donor material, mesh and then skin grafts from my own body. I also had extensive scarring of my internal organs, which they broke up as best as possible but 100% removal of scar tissue was not possible.

This is not common, and is due to a number of factors including the traumatic nature of my liver transplant(s) and the fact I had a G-tube for 23 years prior to transplant surgery. As my surgeon said these types of injuries don't really exist within the transplant space. Even prior to surgery we were told to limit our hopes and expectations of what the surgery would be able to do, and the main goal was always to prevent more damage and preserve what little function in my abdominal muscles I still had, and not to go in and make a fully functional abdominal wall again, which is what happened. Despite this surgery I am not, and likely will never be, at 100% full abdominal function in terms of organ function or muscle function.

Recovery includes wearing a brace, and being on modified bedrest for 6 weeks, which is where I'm at now, and after that we look at slowly rebuilding muscle function using my new donor muscles. Function of my transplanted liver continues to look amazing, and in fact has made it harder to stay on top of the pain since my rockstar liver just processes everything so fast.I'll keep everybody posted on my recovery but just wanted to share, as I know this isn't common in the transplant community but since my experience in this world know there are more people dealing with abdominal wall decomposition or abdominal wall transplants than we even know.

1 - 5 of 5 Replies

  • Wow! That is a lot and recovery must be so dang hard to lay low and let your body do it's magic. I am here for you hoping for the BEST outcome possible in the coming weeks. Thanks for sharing this with us.

    December 12, 2022
  • MelsammTransplant Patient

    Hi AliEm,

    I am so happy to hear from u๐Ÿ˜Š I hope u continue a speedy recovery and will be back to yourself soon.

    keep us posted..โค๏ธ

    December 13, 2022
  • ShelbycreatesTransplant Patient

    Thank you for sharing your experience! You've definitely been missed here around the forum. I'm glad you were able to get some good healing time in for yourself. It's fascinating to me what the doctors were able to do for you! I know this is a difficult healing time for you, so please let us know how we can support you virtually. We can send you playlists or other fun ideas of ways to distract yourself from the pain. In fact, I'll link one of my favorite spotify playlists here for when I'm feeling kinda grouchy or in pain. Here you go:


    Welcome back, friend! I've missed you!

    December 15, 2022
  • MelsammTransplant Patient

    Me to

    ๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š

    December 15, 2022
  • TServoldTransplant Patient

    @AliEm14 , WOW!! You are an incredible, strong, and powerful person. I just wanted to say great job navigating through this, keep inspiring and keep us updated on your recovery. Thanks for sharing.

    December 19, 2022
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