What is Liver Cirrhosis?

Liver Cirrhosis also called liver fibrosis which is caused by various forms of liver diseases, such as chronic alcoholism or hepatitis. In most of the chronic liver diseases like fibrosis, excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix protein including collagen is the underlying cause to trigger the disease. The severity or stage of scarring depends on the liver’s ability to function.

Cirrhosis is the last stage of liver disease. Liver conditions are impacted by hepatitis and chronic alcoholism. The liver is the only organ that can repair itself. Thus, if your liver is injured by excessive alcohol consumption, the damage cannot repair itself. In this process scars tissue formation take place. In the progression of Cirrhosis, more and more scar tissues are formed. This makes it problematic for the functioning of the liver. Advanced cirrhosis can be threatening to life.

This is because the liver damage by cirrhosis cannot be reversed. However, if liver cirrhosis can be detected early, serious liver conditions can be avoided. Cirrhosis is a serious liver complication involving the damage of liver cells and nonreversible liver scars. If you are suffering from viral Hepatitis B and C while you are excessive alcohol consumption. Then, you might develop an extreme condition of liver cirrhosis.

As per the recent statistics, the burden of liver disease in India is enormous with 22.2 deaths / 100,000 populations attributed to cirrhosis by the Global Health Observatory data from the World Health Organization and the 1-year mortality rate in patients with cirrhosis of the liver was 27.7% (source – Indian Journal of transplantation)

Every time our liver is injured either by alcohol abuse, disease, or by any other reason, our liver tries to mend itself. In this process of mending itself, scar tissues are formed, and as the severity of cirrhosis increases more and more scar tissues are formed, making liver function difficult (decompensated cirrhosis).

On the other hand, compensated cirrhosis is a condition in which the liver is scarred but has enough healthy cells to perform basic functions. To make sure the liver does not scar further one must rule out the causes, as liver cirrhosis can’t be undone.