Experiencing liver transplantation: a phenomenological approach

In order to promote health, nurses and other health care professionals need to discover and articulate the meaning that is implicit in experiencing li fe after liver transplantation. From such an understanding, appropriate nur sing interventions can be based. The aim of this study was to investigate t he subjective experiences of the meaning of having a liver transplant, 1 ye ar after the transplantation. After approval from the ethics committee at G oteborg University, 12 patients, nine women and three men, were interviewed . The study sample was chosen strategically to represent common diagnoses p receding liver transplantation. A phenomenological approach was chosen for the study. Analyses of the interviews were based on a modified version of a phenomenological method by Karlsson. Seven categories emerged: facing the inevitable; recapturing the body; emotional chaos; leaving the experts; fam ily and friends; the threat of graft rejection; and honouring the donor. Ha ving undergone a liver transplant meant lying in a paradoxical situation. K nowing that you survived, it was a struggle to regain physical strength und er great emotional stress. The recipients had to self-administer life-long medication, recognize symptoms indicating a potential problem and monitor f or the possibility of graft rejection. Social support was essential for rec overy. Meeting others with the same experience helped liver-transplanted pa tients to deal with their identity crises as well as undergo a transformati on from being utterly unique to a survivor among others. The clinical impli cations from this study are that interventions, such as patient education, and social and mental support, are important tools to optimize both self-ca re capacity and the ability to maintain a healthy perception of identity af ter having a liver transplant at least up to 12 months post-transplant.