Postoperative sexuality and fertility in liver transplant recipients

As liver transplants become more and more effective, more and more patients with end-stage liver disease are successfully undergoing liver transplants, and the vast majority of them have regained their lives and are leading healthy, happy lives. Sex is an important part of adult life. Before transplantation, due to the disease, patients’ libido and sexual function are reduced, and this situation will gradually improve after transplantation. In our transplant center, considering the pull on the abdominal muscles, we generally recommend that patients resume sexual life 8 to 10 weeks after surgery; for those couples who want to have children, it is required that pregnancy be carried out 2 years after transplantation, when the organism has fully recovered, liver function is normal, hormones are no longer being used, and the concentration of immunosuppressants is stable; for patients who wish to plan their families, barrier measures are the best option. Oral contraceptives are relatively contraindicated because of the potential for thrombosis, bile deposition, exacerbation of hypertension, and interference with the metabolic process of cyclosporine. IUDs are also frowned upon as they have been reported in the literature to be associated with bacterial infections in 13% of cases following IUD placement, increasing the risk of infection. An important component of restoring quality of life after liver transplantation is becoming a parent like a normal person. Many women who undergo liver transplantation are in their childbearing years, and the ability to have normal children becomes an unavoidable topic. Medical observations have found that children born to female transplant recipients may mature earlier than children born to male transplant recipients, or weigh less than embryos from the same pregnancy, but this does not affect the health of the child. In contrast, the offspring of male transplant recipients appear to be indistinguishable from the offspring of the normal population. After the transplanted liver has returned to normal function, the effect of drugs on pregnancy becomes a major concern. Studies have shown that the incidence of teratology in humans with standard immunosuppressive drugs is limited, and the occurrence of malformations in the offspring of female transplant recipients using cyclosporine (CsA) does not differ from the offspring of the normal population. Although cyclosporine crosses the placental barrier and can be secreted into breast milk, trace exposures to the drug have been shown to have limited neonatal effects, and some internists have allowed female transplant patients to breastfeed when appropriate. However, we do not recommend breastfeeding with azathioprine because even very small doses of azathioprine can still be detected in breast milk. And tacrolimus-based immunosuppressive therapy will result in fewer pregnancy-related complications compared to cyclosporine-based immunosuppressive therapy. Although, successful pregnancy has become an indicator to rate the success of organ transplantation, it should be noted that pregnancy in female liver transplant recipients is still high risk and requires close personal health monitoring by a coordinated team. Patient monitoring includes testing for blood chemical concentrations and drug levels, ultrasonography, screening for infection, changes in liver function and liver biopsy if necessary. Both mother and fetus should be monitored for cytomegalovirus infection, and female liver transplant recipients should only tolerate pregnancy if they have stable liver and kidney function.