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Primary Sclerosing CholangitisAccuracy 4.0/5

Tasha Lawson: PSC, Situs Inversus, Confusion Workup, and Canceled Liver Transplant

Tasha Lawson's primary sclerosing cholangitis leads to liver transplant planning complicated by situs inversus, altered mental status, MRI over objection, Alzheimer's history, and cancellation.

In Plain English

Tasha is about to receive a liver transplant, but unusual anatomy, confusion, an MRI dispute, and a hidden Alzheimer's history change whether surgery should go forward.

What Happened in the Episode

The transplant is canceled just before it starts after the Alzheimer's finding and prior diagnosis become central to the decision.

Clinical Concept

PSC-related liver transplant planning complicated by situs inversus, altered mental status, possible hepatic encephalopathy or stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and consent conflict.

What ER Teams Would Evaluate

A real transplant team would reassess liver severity, donor fit, transplant eligibility, confusion causes, stroke risk, cognitive diagnosis, decision-making capacity, surrogate authority, and ethics questions before proceeding.

Treatment and Management Overview

Management may include transplant planning, donor organ assessment, labs and imaging for altered mental status, neurologic workup, cognitive record review, ethics consultation, and delaying or canceling transplant if candidacy changes.

What TV Gets Right

The episode recognizes that a transplant can be stopped when new information changes the risk-benefit and consent picture.

What TV Compresses

The episode compresses transplant committee review, informed consent and refusal handling, capacity assessment, ethics consultation, donor-organ logistics, and dementia-related transplant-candidacy discussion.

Sources and Further Reading