cirrhosis

my father has recently been diagnosed stage 4 cirrhosis. how long did it take for him to get this bad? could the doctors have found out sooner?

[mikesimon]

Cirrhosis results from healthy liver tissue being replaced by scar tissue. This generally occurs due to long term inflammation and is a slowly progressing disorder. It generally takes quite a long time to become cirrhotic but it also depends in part on the underlying cause of his liver disease - alcohol, Hep C, drug induced, auto-immune etc.
In most cases there are some signs of liver disease that can be seen in blood work before the liver reaches the stage of cirrhosis. But. the tests must be ordered and the results must be read.
It is not uncommon for a person to first learn that he/she has liver disease when he/she is already cirrhotic.
There is compensated cirrhosis which means that the liver can still perform its basic functions. In this case if the patient removes the underlying insult - if it is alcohol stop drinking or if it is Hep C then treat and clear the virus etc - then it may be possible for the patient to live a relatively long and healthy life.
If, however, the cirrhosis is decompensated then his liver cannot perform its basic functions and the outlook is not good.
I would think if your father was suffering from decompensated cirrhosis you wouldn't need a doctor's diagnosis to know that he was extremely ill so he probably has compensated cirrhosis.

I wish you the best going forward.

Mike