Simultaneous liver and kidney transplants: optimizing use of this double resource.

Simultaneous liver and kidney transplantation is a life saving procedure for patients with combined liver and kidney failure; however, it remains controversial because of the need to balance individual patient need versus resource allocation. As waiting lists for transplantation become longer and patients become increasingly ill, there will be greater numbers of patients referred for liver and kidney transplantation. Acute kidney injury even requiring dialysis may potentially be reversible making combined transplant decisions difficult. Similarly, selected compensated cirrhotic patients with renal failure may be managed with renal transplant alone. Shared multicenter experience or clinical trials or both will be required to refine our ability to optimally manage these patients with combined liver and kidney dysfunction.