Abstract
Background/Purpose: Live-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has developed to address the critical shortage of cadaveric organs that accounts for 20% of children who die while awaiting for a liver transplant in Ontario each year. This report reviews the outcome of the pediatric recipients of LDLT at the authors' center. Methods: The charts of all children who received a LDLT between June 1996 and March 2002 were reviewed retrospectively. Results: Thirteen children (mean age, 3.6 years) underwent LDLT. All donors were parents except for one cousin. Ten grafts were left-lateral segments, 2 were right lobes, and 1 was a left lobe. Three patients required a SILASTIC® (Dow Corning, Midland, MI) patch for delayed abdominal wall closure. Patient and graft survival rate was 100% with a median follow-up of 376 days. Major postoperative complications included biliary leaks (n = 2), biliary strictures (n = 1), portal vein thrombosis (n = 1), and hepatic venous complications (n = 1). There were no cases of hepatic artery thrombosis. Ten of 12 children became Positive for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and 3 of these patients had readily treatable post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder. Conclusions: LDLT is an acceptable alternative to cadaveric transplantation for children with end-stage liver disease.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 668-671 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Journal of Pediatric Surgery |
Volume | 38 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 1 2003 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Live donors
- Liver transplantation
- Outcome
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Surgery
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health