Pediatric living donor liver transplantation: a report of 33 cases

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of living donor liver transplantation in the treatment of infants with end-stage liver diseases. Methods The clinical data of 33 infants who received living donor liver transplantation at the Renji Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University from October 2006 to September 2009 were retrospectively analyzed. The median age of the infants was 10.9 months, and the mean body weight was 8.2 kg.All of the grafts were left lateral lobes. Tacrolimus (or cyclosporine A) + steroid or tacrolimus (or cyclosporine A)+ steroid + mycophenolate mofeti] were applied to the infants to suppress the immune reaction. Operative techniques, perioperative management and results of follow-up were analyzed. Results The mean operation time,blood loss and blood transfusion of the donors were (384±108)minutes, (183±35) ml and O, and the three indexes of the recipients were (500± 103) minutes, (296±163) ml and (292 ± 159) ml , respectively. The cold preservation time of the grafts was (64 ±23)minutes, the mean weight of the grafts was (249 ±52)g, and the mean graft to recipient weight ratio was 2.1% ± 0.4%. All donors recovered smoothly and no complication occurred. Of the recipients, three were complicated with hepatic artery thrombosis, two with portal vein thrombosis,nine with biliary complications, 11 with infection, two with acute rejection and five infants died perioperatively.The one-year cumulative survival rate of the infants was 85% (28/33). Conclusions Infants with end-stage liver diseases could be treated by living donor liver transplantation. The development of surgical techniques and perioperative managements improves the success rate of operation and the long-term survival rate. Key words: End-stage liver diseases; Living donor liver transplantation; Infants