PURPOSE: Bowel perforation after liver transplantation (LT) is a rare, but highly lethal complication with a poor prognosis. Here, we report the outcome of cases of bowel perforation after pediatric LT in our department. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study subjects were 148 patients who underwent pediatric living donor liver transplantation. The 114 with biliary atresia (BA) were divided into two groups: those with associated bowel perforation (Group A) and those without (Group B). RESULTS: Four patients in all (2.5%) suffered bowel perforation. Their original disease was BA and emergency surgery was performed in all cases, with a mortality rate of 50.0%. Comparison of Groups A and B revealed significant differences in the patient age, body weight, duration of surgery, cold ischemic time, and blood loss volume. The survival rates in Groups A and B were 50.0 and 99.1%, respectively (p < 0.01). Duration of surgery was an independent risk factor (p = 0.05). CONCLUSION: Bowel perforation after LT is a potentially fatal complication. LT is a procedure that requires care and precision, and the possibility of bowel perforation should always be borne in mind during post-operative management, when the duration of surgery has been long.
PURPOSE:Bowel perforation after liver transplantation (LT) is a rare, but highly lethal complication with a poor prognosis. Here, we report the outcome of cases of bowel perforation after pediatric LT in our department. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study subjects were 148 patients who underwent pediatric living donor liver transplantation. The 114 with biliary atresia (BA) were divided into two groups: those with associated bowel perforation (Group A) and those without (Group B). RESULTS: Four patients in all (2.5%) suffered bowel perforation. Their original disease was BA and emergency surgery was performed in all cases, with a mortality rate of 50.0%. Comparison of Groups A and B revealed significant differences in the patient age, body weight, duration of surgery, cold ischemic time, and blood loss volume. The survival rates in Groups A and B were 50.0 and 99.1%, respectively (p < 0.01). Duration of surgery was an independent risk factor (p = 0.05). CONCLUSION:Bowel perforation after LT is a potentially fatal complication. LT is a procedure that requires care and precision, and the possibility of bowel perforation should always be borne in mind during post-operative management, when the duration of surgery has been long.
Authors: Y Uchida; M Kasahara; H Egawa; Y Takada; K Ogawa; Y Ogura; K Uryuhara; D Morioka; S Sakamoto; Y Inomata; Y Kamiyama; K Tanaka Journal: Am J Transplant Date: 2006-08-01 Impact factor: 8.086