title: Revisited impact of recipient age on the outcome of living donor liver transplantation for biliary atresia in the recent "transplantation era" in Japan.
abstract: To re-evaluate the impact of recipient age on the outcome of LDLT for BA in an era in which LDLT is the established treatment for BA in Japan. Thirty-one patients with BA who underwent LDLT were divided into four groups regarding the age at LDLT: infants <1 yr old (group A; n = 14); young children 1 to 6 yr old (group B; n = 8); school children 6 to 15 yr old (group B; n = 5); and adults > or =15 yr old (group D; n = 4). Pre-, peri-, and postoperative factors were compared among the four groups. There was no significant difference in number of the previous laparotomy among the groups. Cholestasis was the dominant indication in group A. PELD score in group B was lower than that in the other groups, and blood loss in group B was significantly less than in groups A and D. Ratio of the graft weight to the recipient's body weight (GRWR) in group A was significantly higher than in other groups. Duration of operation in group D was lower than in groups A and B, but there was no significant difference in the length of postoperative hospital stay and graft survival. Although the case volume was not big, the age of the recipient did not have any significant impact on the outcome of LDLT in our series.
authors.affiliation: Department of Transplantation and Pediatric Surgery, Postgraduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohya
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okajima
authors.forename: Aya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nishimori
authors.forename: Kwang-Jong
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yasumasa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shirouzu
authors.forename: Hidekazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takeichi
authors.forename: Katsuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Asonuma
authors.forename: Yukihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inomata
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001656:Biliary Atresia / Q000601:surgery* / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007564:Japan; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D019520:Living Donors; D008297:Male; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome