Liver conditions: Personalized care

Digestion and the clotting of your blood depend on it. It’s also essential for energy storage and the removal of toxins from your blood. When your liver’s not working well, your health will suffer.

You can depend on UW Health to provide expert care for all types of liver conditions. We offer advanced imaging, innovative treatments and a team of skilled and caring providers. Whether you’re dealing with a genetic disorder, an infection, cancer or liver failure, we make sure you get the care you need from diagnosis and beyond.

Many different conditions — cancerous and noncancerous — can affect your liver.

Cancerous liver conditions

• Bile duct cancer

• Liver metastases (cancer that spreads to the liver from elsewhere in the body)

• Primary liver cancer (cancer that starts in the liver)

Benign liver conditions

• Alcoholic liver disease 

• Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency 

• Benign liver tumors

• Cirrhosis/end-stage liver disease 

• Hemochromatosis 

• Hepatitis B 

• Hepatitis C 

• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

• Primary biliary cholangitis 

• Primary sclerosing cholangitis 

• Wilson’s disease

Your diagnosis guides your treatment. At UW Health, a team of experts will be involved in your care. Their combined expertise helps you receive individualized therapies that are best for you and your illness.

Treatment for cancer in the liver

If you have cancer, you’ll have all the resources of the UW Carbone Cancer Center to support you. The center is Wisconsin’s only comprehensive cancer center. This designation comes from the National Cancer Institute and speaks to the high level of care we provide.

Specific treatments we offer include:

• Chemoembolization

• Cryoablation

• Hepatic arterial regional chemotherapy

• Liver resection (removal or a portion of your liver)

• Liver transplant

• Microwave ablation

• Minimally invasive hepatectomy (removal of a portion of your liver)

• Portal vein embolization

• Radiation therapy

• Radiofrequency ablation

• Two-stage hepatectomy

Learn more about our treatments for liver cancer

Treatment for benign liver conditions

For some noncancerous conditions, we might advise changing your diet, losing weight or avoiding alcohol as a first step. Medication can be an option as well. 

For other conditions, innovative therapies or surgery may be recommended. We offer several minimally invasive procedures. They often result in less pain and have shorter hospital stays than traditional treatments. We find what will work best for you. 

Specific treatments we offer include: 

• Blood removal 

• Liver cyst fenestration 

• Liver resection 

• Liver transplant

• Medication

• Nutrition therapy

Research

Improving treatments for liver disease is an important part of our work at UW Health. We regularly conduct research and clinical trials. These trials help us test new therapies. To learn more, contact the GI and Hepatology Clinical Research Office at (608) 263-4185.

Research also takes place through the UW Carbone Cancer Center. We look for better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat liver cancer. Learn more about our cancer clinical trials