Non-conventional treatment of hepatic failures

It is our intention to present a short review of various approaches to the non-conventional treatment of hepatic failures of the fulminant type. Our review is directed to the scientist, technologist, and clinician with a budding interest in the hepatic assist area. We shall discuss parabiosis, liver transplants, and various extracorporeal devices including hemoperfusion, hemodialysis, and enzymic detoxification systems. We feel that the present technological approaches to the treatment of hepatic failure are very primitive at this stage. Some of the recent advances are very encouraging, and it is our opinion that these approaches show great promise in the long term.