An experienced physician, Dr. Lewis Teperman acts as director of transplant surgery at the NYU Langone Medical Center. In collaboration with his colleagues, he is pioneering the use of advanced drugs like Incivek and Victrelis in treating hepatitis C following liver transplant procedures.
In spring 2011, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of Victrelis for patients with hepatitis C who still have some liver function. Further, such patients must not have undergone previous hepatitis C drug therapies or, if they are on an alternative therapy, the therapy must first fail before they can take Victrelis. Patients take the medication in pill form with food three times daily. It inhibits the hepatitis C virus by binding to it and suppressing its reproductive capacities.
The majority of liver transplant patients in the United States have progressive hepatitis C induced liver disease. Individuals contract the virus through exposure to infected blood, from birth, from engaging in intercourse with an infected individual, from sharing razors and toothbrushes, and from tainted tools.