Authors
1 Professor, Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Golisano Children's Hospital, Upstate Medical University, 725 Irving Avenue, Suite 504, Syracuse NY 13210.
2 Professor, Pediatric Hematology, Columbia University, 403 E 34th St, New York, NY 10016, United States.
3 Students Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
4 Associate Professor of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Abstract
Liver or hepatic transplantation (LT) is the replacement of a diseased liver with part or whole healthy liver from another person (allograft). Human liver transplants were first performed by Thomas Starzl in the United States and Roy Calne in Cambridge, England in 1963 and 1967, respectively. Liver transplantation is a viable treatment option for end-stage liver disease and acute liver failure. Pediatric patients account for about 12.5% of liver transplant recipients. The most commonly used technique is orthotopic transplantation, in which the native liver is removed and replaced by the donor organ in the same anatomic location as the original liver. Cirrhosis, or liver injury, is a common reason why adults need liver transplants and children with bile duct disease issues are often the candidates. Survival statistics depend greatly on the age of donor, age of recipient, skill of the transplant center, compliance of the recipient, whether the organ came from a living or cadaveric donor and overall health of the recipient. Survival rates improve almost yearly, due to improved techniques and medications.
Keywords
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