Fatty liver
The liver can regenerate. We treat the whole person so it can.
SCLC North uses the same whole-patient fatty-liver program as Southern California Fatty Liver Centers, led by Dr. Tarek Hassanein.
MASLD and NASH
Fat in the liver is a body problem, not a willpower problem.
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), still often called NAFLD, is extra fat in the liver of people who drink little or no alcohol. Left alone it can become NASH: inflammation, scar, cirrhosis, cancer.
It almost never travels alone. Type 2 diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, and heart disease feed the same fire. Insulin resistance parks fat in the liver. The liver then makes the rest of the body worse. Treating only the liver number fails.
That is why this clinic staffs hepatologists, internists, nurse practitioners, and nutrition together, and why we talk to your primary doctor instead of replacing them.
Non-invasive diagnosis
FibroScan and the Hepatus 6 ultrasound measure fat and stiffness without jumping to biopsy. We use biopsy when it changes the plan, not as a default.
Integrated care
Diabetes, weight, sleep, and heart disease sit in the same plan as the liver. We coordinate with cardiology, endocrinology, and your PCP.
Cure, not only manage
The liver can grow back. Nutrition, exercise, alcohol honesty, and medication are aimed at reversing fat and inflammation, not parking you on a watch list.
What you can change
Food, movement, and the rest of the week.
A balanced plate of whole foods, vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains gives the liver something to heal with. Processed food, refined sugar, trans fat, and extra alcohol do the opposite.
If the disease is alcohol-related, cutting alcohol is not optional. If it is MASLD, sugar and fructose still matter. We write this down with you. We do not lecture you from a pamphlet.
Movement is medicine here. Anna Marie Hefner, a pediatric nurse practitioner and fatty-liver specialist, helps patients make lifestyle changes they can keep, not just a New Year resolution.
Anna Marie has three consecutive AASLD mid-level awards for this work. That is not marketing copy. That is why she is on this team.