No cause of death was determined by actor Michelle Tartchinberg, whose body was found on Wednesday at her home in the most important West Side, according to the main medical examiner office in New York City.
A source for NBC New York told TRACHTENBERG, 39, he had He recently received liver transplantation. It is not known if it suffers from complications from that surgery.
Three doctors searching or treating liver disease said that complications, such as infections or blood clots, are somewhat expected to a transplant, but the patient’s results are generally positive. The five -year survival rate exceeds 75 %.
“Usually, by the time when someone leaves the hospital, there is usually all the evidences that the liver works,” said Dr. Daniel Brandmann, medical director of liver and transplant at Newyork-Prasbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine.
Some serious complications that may arise after surgery include heart attacks, fractures or clots in the arteries or veins where the new liver has been attached, which may lead to liver failure.
In other cases, the drugs prescribed after surgery may generate high levels of potassium in the blood, causing irregular heart rate, said Dr. Elliot Taber, associate professor of liver science at the University of Michigan.
“This is one of the most surgical operations that can be performed,” he said. “People are then sick. They are usually weak, they are infected, or some simple complications, and they will need someone to help him in their daily life.”
The transplants are usually dedicated to people whose liver has been irreversibly damage, and no other options leave them. About 10,000 people receive liver transplants annually in the United States, and 24000 on the waiting list At any time.
The reasons that tracetenberg receives unknown implants. Liver disease worldwide is the most common cause of liver transplantation-around it 41 % of the beneficiaries in 2023 have alcohol -related liver disease As their primary diagnosis. Betical liver disease, which is obesity and diabetes that is characterized by liver accumulation, constitutes the second largest share: 20 %.
Other reasons include less common for liver cancer implants, viral hepatitis and autoimmune conditions.
In recent years, some Trackenberg lovers – who have been famous for her roles on “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” and “Gossip Girl” – have noticed on social media that she looked sick and lost her weight. But more than a year ago, Tracktenberg He answered the comments On her Instagram page on her appearance, she told people that she was “happy and healthy.”
Doctors who have been interviewed said that the rates of both fatty liver disease and alcohol -related liver diseases rise among young people, although cases can affect people of all ages.
“We have definitely seen increases in alcohol -related liver disease and need liver transplantation in patients in 20 and 30 years, especially the thirties of the last century,” said Brandman.
Taber said that the issue could be largely attributed to lifestyle factors.
He said: “The liver of the nation is not in good health as it was.” “There is more fat in the liver due to diet, obesity and diabetes epidemic. Network drinking is more common in young generations than before.”
People who need liver transplants usually have liver fibrosis, a condition in which healthy tissues in the liver are replaced by a scar tissue caused by swelling and infections. This scarring prevents liver from carrying out vital tasks such as toxins from blood and helping the body to digest food and convert it into energy.
Those who have reached this point, known as liver disease in the final stage, may suffer from confusion, weight loss and yellow change in the skin and eyes, among other symptoms.
Most of the died liver comes from died donors, but a minority of patients have part of their liver is replaced by a part of a living and healthy person.
Holders usually need to take for lifelong medications to prevent their bodies from attacking the donor – what is known as “refusal”. The risk of rejection is the highest during the first six months.
“We pick up rejection by looking at the liver enzymes in the blood, then we have a protocol to treat this before it becomes a serious problem,” Taber said. “So the refusal you can not advance is very rare.”
Dr. Brian Lee, a hepatitis specialist and a liver transplant specialist at the University of California, a medical system of the University of Southern California, said the results of the implants can be improved if more doctors refer patients early during their illness.
He said: “There are many patients who die of liver disease because they were not referred at all, or have not been indicated enough enough to implant the liver.”
Taber said it is also important to reduce risk factors that lead to liver disease in the first place, such as excessive alcohol use, high sugar and limited physical activity.
“I prefer that people do not need liver transplantation,” he said.