Webinar: Exercise: A key component for success when preparing for and recovering from Liver Transplant
Summary
This presentation will describe the role of muscle and exercise in the transplant evaluation, prehabilitation and rehabilitation process.
Learning Objectives
- Understanding the role of muscle mass in the post-op rehabilitation process.
- Understanding importance/effectiveness of pre-habilitation.
- Understanding the importance of post-op mobilization.
Speaker: Gil Spitz, Exercise Physiologist at Baylor/St. Luke's Medical Center; Liver Transplant Program
Gil Spitz has a BS and MS in Exercise Physiology from Humboldt State University (Now CalPoly Humboldt). He researched optimized training for first responders with a particular focus on firefighters. In 2019, Gil joined the Medical ICU team at Baylor/St. Luke's Medical Center, where he was tasked with assessing, developing and enacting exercise plans for patients. In this setting, he was able to work with some of the most medically compromised patients including patients on ventilators, dialysis, and multiple medications.
In 2021, Gil joined the Liver Transplant Program, where he implemented a now hospital wide utilized method for assessing transplant patients for physical suitability, provided followed patients in the post-transplant setting, and recently developed a virtual prehabilitation program aimed at improving post-transplant outcomes.