Center for Liver Diseases
The Center for Liver Diseases offers comprehensive services to patients with acute, chronic, and end-stage liver diseases. The clinical core of the Center for Liver Diseases consists of outpatient and inpatient consultations, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and liver transplantation.
Specific services include:
- Comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to a variety of liver diseases
- Hepatology Inservice: inpatient services dedicated to patients with liver diseases staffed by a team of hepatologists and nurse specialists.
- Multidisciplinary approach to the management of liver malignancies (primary or metastatic)
- Management of acute and chronic hepatitis of different etiologies with state-of-the-art medical therapies.
- Management of Liver Cirrhosis and its sequalae
- Liver Transplantation
- Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) – the latest established technology in the treatment of primary and metastatic liver tumors. The St. Luke’s Center for Liver Diseases has been the Philippines' pioneer in performing RFA of liver tumors since January 2003. The Center’s record and experience in performing the procedure to the extent of improving the survival even of those with huge tumors make it the most reliable facility for RFA in the country today.
- Basic & Clinical research
- Active coordination with different local and international liver associations and foundations to promote programs in Hepatology for medical practitioners, patients and lay individuals.
I. State-of-the-art facilities for the complete diagnosis and management of liver diseases, including:
- Viral hepatitis
- Primary biliary cirrhosis
- Primary sclerosing cholangitis
- Autoimmune liver disease
- Alcoholic hepatitis
- Cirrhosis
- Hematochromatosis
- Wilson disease
- Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)
- HIV-related liver disease
- Liver tumors, especially Hepatocellular carcinoma and Metastatic liver cancer
- Drug-induced hepatitis
- Hepato-Biliary tuberculosis
- Liver Abscess
- Other chronic and acute hepato-biliary diseases (e.g. Fulminant Hepatic Failure)
II. Services:
- Hepatology Inservice and outpatient services
- Liver Transplant Evaluation and Liver Transplantation
- Diagnostic & Therapeutic (interventional) services
- Research
- Patient Education
- Screening and Prevention
III. Diagnostic Facilities:
- 2D/3D Ultrasound with color Doppler imaging
- 64-Slice and 16-Slice CT (Triphasic and Dynamic CT)
- MRI / MRCP/MRA using Resovist Contrast
- PET
- X-ray
- Pathology
- Nuclear Medicine (Gamma Camera/SPECT)
- PCR studies, genotyping, mutant strain determination
- Liver Biopsy (Percutaneous or Transjugular) with complete histopathological staining including special stains
- Hepatic Digital Subtraction Angiography with Portography
IV. Therapeutic Modalities:
- Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)
- Percutaneous Ethanol Injection Therapy (PEIT)
- Transarterial Chemoembolization (TACE)
- Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) with Respiratory Gating
- Hepato-biliary Surgery
- Percutaneous Aspiration/Drainage of huge liver abscess/hepatic cyst
- Sclerotherapy of giant hepatic cyst
- Chemotherapy
- Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt/TIPS
- Paracentesis with or without pigtail insertion
- Charcoal Hemoperfusion/Plasmapheresis for Acute Liver Failure
- Liver Transplantation
V. Research Activities:
- Research Areas
- Basic
- Clinical
- Genomic
- Diagnostic
- Prognostic
- Viral Hepatitis
- Liver Tumors (Primary & metastatic); Benign
- Liver Cirrhosis
- Acute liver failure
- Fatty Liver
- NASH (Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis)
- Alcoholic liver disease
- Hepatoxicity, Inflammation and Fibrosis
- Metabolism and Molecular Biology
- Liver membrane transport and Cell Biology
- Alpha Feto Protein serum/tissue and its specificity
- IMRT with chemotherapy
- Drug trials
- Liver transplantation
B. Data Banks
- Liver Data Bank
- Tumor Board/Liver Tumor Registry
- Sera Bank
VI. Clinical Areas:
- Hepatitis A, B, C, D
- Cirrhosis
- Autoimmune Hepatitis
- Hepatocellular Carcinoma (Primary Liver Cancer)
- Metastatic Liver Cancer
- Fatty Liver
- Alcoholic Hepatitis
- Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)
- Genetic abnormalities
- Metabolic disorders
- Drug induced liver injury
- Cholangitis
- Cholangiocarcinoma
- Hemochromatosis
- Wilson disease
- Other acute and chronic hepato-biliary diseases
