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Media Relations: Mercy News Archive

Dr. Paul Thuluvath, Medical Director, The Institute for Digestive Health and Liver Disease at Mercy

Dr. Paul Thuluvath of The Institute For Digestive Health And Liver Disease At Mercy Discusses Women And Liver Disease Issues

Women are more vulnerable than men to certain sorts of liver disease. The liver is vulnerable to many different risks, including drug and alcohol use, infection, autoimmune disease and obesity.

Rose Selmack said she was diagnosed with liver disease in 1999 from unknown sources. The disease quickly progressed to liver cancer. She said she was on the transplant list for four years.

Dr. Paul Thuluvath, Medical Director for The Institute for Digestive Health and Liver Disease at Mercy Medical Center, noted that certain types of liver disease are more common in women, such as fatty liver disease, but any type can lead to liver cancer.

"In this country, there has been a tremendous increase in liver cancer — almost four-fold in 20 years," he said.

Dr. Thuluvath added that the increase is mainly due to fatty liver disease and hepatitis C—and is linked to the "big increase the county has seen in obesity."

Selmack had a liver transplant in May 2006 and said she currently feels great.

"I feel like I used to. I have color in my face. I have energy. I feel like myself again," she said.

Selmack said she started going to a support group because she knows how it feels to be on a waiting list for a transplant. For more information and to see Dr. Thuluvath's interview on WBAL-TV11's "Woman's Doctor," visit http://www.wbaltv.com/womansdoctor/19231713/detail.html

ABOUT DR. THULUVATH... Paul J. Thuluvath, M.D., received his medical degree from the University of Sheffield School of Medicine, England. He completed an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at St. Johns Medical College Hospital, India, as well as a residency in Internal Medicine at the Dunston Hill Hospital and Castle Hill Hospital, England. He completed his Gastroenterology and Hepatology fellowship at the University of Cambridge, England. Board Certified in Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine, Dr. Thuluvath specializes in liver disease, liver transplantation, ERCP, liver cancer, and primary sclerosing cholangitis. He extensive research experience, has authored numerous articles, book chapters, and editorials, and is an international speaker. A fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology and Royal College of Physicians of London, Dr. Thuluvath is a member of the American Association for Study of Liver Disease, American Gastrenterological Association, American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, International Liver Transplant Society, The Transplantation Society, and European Association for Study of Liver Diseases.