Transplantation of a 2-year-old deceased-donor liver to a 61-year-old male recipient

The suitable size of a graft is a key element in the success of liver transplantation. A small-for-size liver graft is very likely to sustain a significant degree of injury as a result of ischemia, preservation, reperfusion, and rejection. Usually, small-for-size grafts are a concern in living-donor...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wing Chiu Dai, William W. Sharr, Kenneth S.H. Chok, Tan To Cheung, James Y.Y. Fung, Albert C.Y. Chan, See Ching Chan, Chung Mau Lo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2015-04-01
Series:Asian Journal of Surgery
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1015958412001352
Description
Summary:The suitable size of a graft is a key element in the success of liver transplantation. A small-for-size liver graft is very likely to sustain a significant degree of injury as a result of ischemia, preservation, reperfusion, and rejection. Usually, small-for-size grafts are a concern in living-donor liver transplantation rather than in deceased-donor liver transplantation. Here, we describe the successful transplantation of a liver from a 2-year-old deceased donor to a 61-year-old male recipient who suffered from liver failure related to hepatitis B. No report of successful deceased-donor liver transplantation with discrepancies between donor and recipient age and size to such an extent has been found in the literature. Despite unusually large discrepancies, with effort in minimizing the ischemic time, revised surgical techniques, and strong regenerative power of the “young” graft, the old patient's liver function gradually returned to normal. This again proves that the definition of a “suitable graft” evolves with time and experience.
ISSN:1015-9584