The largest solid organ in the body, the liver resides on the right side of the abdomen under the rib cage. It plays an important role in the digestive system. The liver serves many functions from clearing the blood of toxins to processing the essential nutrients of the foods we eat. An unhealthy liver compromised by disease, lifestyle and other factors, demands accurate diagnosis, effective treatment and superior care to avoid irreversible damage and organ failure.
The Liver Disease/Hepatology Program at NorthShore delivers leading-edge comprehensive care for all different types of liver diseases both acute and chronic. Our board-certified, fellowship-trained hepatologists (liver disease specialists) have extensive experience caring for patients using the most innovative technologies, procedures and therapies available. NorthShore is one of only few medical centers outside Chicago to offer FibroScan® and Magnetic Resonance Elastography ‒ two non-invasive diagnostic tests used to assess liver damage. Quick, easy and painless, these tests have emerged as popular non-surgical alternatives to traditional liver biopsies. At NorthShore, we treat all types of liver disease and common conditions that can seriously harm the liver, including chronic hepatitis B and C infections, caused by blood-borne viruses, and fatty liver disease, a condition often diagnosed in patients with metabolic syndrome (which includes excess weight, pre-diabetes or diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, elevated blood lipids and polycystic ovarian syndrome). We also have expertise caring for patients with alcoholic liver disease, autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cholangitis, medication-induced liver disease and genetic disorders such as hemochromatosis and Wilson’s disease.
For patients with liver tumors/hepatocellular carcinoma, we develop a personalized treatment that takes into account the specific features of the tumor as well as the status of the surrounding liver. Our liver cancer team includes hepatologists, medical oncologists, liver surgeons, interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, pharmacists, and advanced therapeutic endoscopists. Our liver cancer clinic is located at the Kellogg Cancer Center, where our multidisciplinary team meets weekly to discuss each patient’s case in detail and to design a personalized cancer treatment plan.
Our liver specialists see patients from the earliest to the most advanced stages of their disease, including patients with liver failure and those who require a liver transplant. We have extensive experience managing the care of pre-transplant patients and work closely with all liver transplant centers in the Chicago area.
NorthShore Skokie Hospital serves as the primary site for our liver program. Fibroscan® and MR Elastography exams are performed at this site and it also serves as the clinic site for our Hepatitis C Treatment Center. In addition, you may also see our liver disease specialists at our hospitals in Evanston, Glenview and Highland Park.
For More Information
For more information on types of liver disease and on hepatology at NorthShore or to schedule an appointment with one of our hepatologists, please call 847.657.1900.