The liver is a vital organ that forms part of your digestive system. If you have liver disease symptoms or a high risk of liver problems, visit one of Newtown Gastroenterology’s locations in New York City. The offices at Elmhurst and Flushing in Queens, Sunset Park in Brooklyn, and Chinatown in Manhattan, specialize in liver disorders such as hepatitis and cirrhosis. Call your nearest Newtown Gastroenterology office today if you’re worried about your liver. You can also schedule a consultation using the online booking feature.
Liver disease is a broad term for conditions affecting the liver. This large organ is vital for proper digestion and clears toxins from your body. Common liver diseases include:
Hepatitis
Hepatitis is liver inflammation. It has various causes, the most likely being hepatitis A, B, and C viral infections.
Fatty liver disease
Fatty liver disease is where your liver has excessive fat stores that stop the organ from functioning properly. One form of fatty liver disease affects people with alcoholism. The other is nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Both can cause liver inflammation and scarring (cirrhosis).
Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis is severe, irreversible liver scarring. Excessive, long-term alcohol consumption is a common cause, but fatty liver disease and advanced hepatitis can also lead to cirrhosis.
The Newtown Gastroenterology team members are experts in liver disease, with their doctors all training at top New York City institutions such as Mount Sinai and NYU.
Liver disease often causes no symptoms because the organ works hard to keep functioning. Therefore, you could have liver disease and not realize it until the damage is severe. When liver disease symptoms occur, they typically include:
• Chronic fatigue
• Abdominal swelling
• Swollen ankles
• Abdominal pain
• Loss of appetite
• Itchy skin
• Pale-colored stools
• Nausea and vomiting
• Jaundice
Jaundice is a particularly noticeable liver disease symptom. Your skin has a yellowish tinge that’s most obvious in the whites of your eyes. However, not everyone with liver disease develops jaundice.
The Newtown Gastroenterology team performs tests to confirm their diagnosis, which could include a blood test, FibroScan® GO ultrasound, CT scan, or MRI.
You might also need to undergo a liver biopsy to identify the type of liver disease you’ve got and evaluate your liver’s condition. A biopsy is where your provider extracts a tiny tissue sample from your liver for lab analysis.
The liver disease treatment you require depends on which condition affects you. For example, fatty liver disease often improves with lifestyle changes, especially avoiding alcohol and losing weight. Medication can treat hepatitis B and C, and there’s also a vaccine against hepatitis B. For the best results, it helps to begin liver disease treatment as soon as possible, so don’t delay your diagnosis. Call Newtown Gastroenterology today or schedule a consultation using the online booking form.
