Living Related Donor Liver Transplantation in Children

Abstract Objective The objective of this study was to report our experience with pediatric orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) with living related donors. Methods We performed a retrospective chart analysis of 121 living related donor liver transplantations (LRDLT) from June 1998 to June 2010. Results Indications were biliary atresia (BA; n = 81), primary sclerosing cholangitis (n = 5), α-1 antitrypsin deficiency (n = 4); cholestasis (n = 9), fulminant hepatic failure (n = 8), autoimmune hepatitis (n = 2), Alagille syndrome (n = 4), hepatoblastoma (n = 3), tyrosinemia (n = 2), and congenital hepatic fibrosis (n = 3). The age of the recipients ranged from 7–174 months (median, 22) and the weights ranged from 6–58 kg (median, 10). Forty-nine children (40.5%) weighed ≤10 kg. The grafts included the left lateral segment (n = 108), the left lobe (n = 12), and the right lobe (n = 1). The donors included 71 mothers, 45 fathers, 2 uncles, 1 grandmother, 1 grandfather, and 1 sister with a median age of 29 years (range, 16–53 ys) and a median weight of 68 kg (range, 47–106). Sixteen patients (12.9%) required retransplantation, most commonly due to hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT; n = 13; 10.7%). The other complications were biliary stenosis (n = 25; 20.6%), portal vein thrombosis (PVT; n = 11; 9.1%), portal vein stenosis (n = 5; 4.1%), hepatic vein stenosis (n = 6; 4.9%), and lymphoproliferative disorders (n = 8; 6.6%). The ultimate survival rate of recipients was 90.3% after 1 year and 75.8% after 3 years. Causes of early death within 1 month were HAT (n = 6), PVT (n = 2), severe graft dysfunction (n = 1), sepsis (n = 1), and intraoperative death in children with acute liver failure (n = 2). Causes of late deaths included lymphoproliferative disease (n = 3), chronic rejection (n = 2), biliary complications (n = 3), and recurrent disease (n = 3; hepatoblastoma and primary sclerosing cholangitis). Conclusions Despite the heightened possibility of complications (mainly vascular), LRDLT represented a good alternative to transplantation from cadaveric donors in pediatric populations. It was associated with a high survival ratio.