Confusion after transplant

[ruby555]

Hi Dr.....I'm really concerned. My husband went to hospital on August 1st....stomach pain and general lethargy. We were on transplant list for only about 2 months. They gave him a lot of pain meds which brought on encephalopathy which really never resolved despite a ton of lactulose. On the 11th they told us they have a liver which was amazing!  He had transplant and it was tough....they ran into portal vein thrombosis that they didn't know about so there was a lot of bleeding. He suffered a mild heart attack the evening after surgery due to massive loss of blood, 13 hr surgery etc. They kept him sedated and on vent for about 10 days following surgery because they felt he may need to go back to surgery for bleeding but he didn't!  They brought him off the vent a few days ago and out of sedation.....the problem is that he is BEYOND confused and delirious. He's having hallucinations etc. They tell me this sometimes happens but I'm worried. They say his liver numbers near perfect, kidneys great, no damage to heart....all good. Just this horrible confusion. He was receiving morphine, sedation etc but would that explain the current state of things?  They just took him for a CT of his head to make sure they aren't missing anything. Any thoughts?  

[Thomas D Schiano, MD]

sorry for the later reply as there were difficulties with the server.  What you describe is not unusual and happens more commonly in patients experiencing encephalopathy pre-transplant, and is due to the medications.  i trust that everything has gotten better

[cpnair]

I too had hallucinations and was in a delirious state for about two weeks after my transplant. Don't worry, it would get over. Don't make fun, later, of all what he says during that stage !

[ruby555]

PS....ct on brain showed no changes, all ok there.