MARS and the Failing Liver - Sending Help from Planet Earth

Abstract

Fulminate liver failure is often fatal and with the current shortage of donor transplant organs, molecular adsorbent recirculating system (MARS) offers a bridging treatment to sustain the patient until a suitable organ becomes available or the native liver recovers. MARS, or liver dialysis, is an extracorporeal detoxification method, used in conjunction with continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), in which an albumin dialysis is used to clear protein bound toxins. Since its approval by the Food and Drug Administration, the University of Kansas Hospital is the first institution in the region and one of only seven in the country to implement this cutting edge therapy.