How long can a person live with leg and foot swelling caused by cirrhosis?
Disease description:
My friend has cirrhosis, and his leg edema has become particularly severe in recent days. He has been very worried about how long he can live. How long can someone live when leg edema is caused by cirrhosis?
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Shen Yonghua
Leg and foot edema caused by cirrhosis usually indicates that the disease has progressed to the decompensated stage, during which the patient's survival rate may be significantly affected. The specific survival time varies among individuals and depends on multiple factors, including the severity of illness, control of complications, response to treatment, and lifestyle. For patients with milder conditions, timely treatment such as the use of diuretics and albumin supplementation may not significantly impact life expectancy. However, for those with more severe disease who develop serious complications such as massive ascites, jaundice, coagulopathy, hepatic encephalopathy, or major upper gastrointestinal bleeding, the prognosis is poor, and survival time may be shorter, potentially ranging from 1 to 5 years.
