title: Current concepts in pediatric liver transplantation.
abstract: Liver transplantation is the definitive treatment for end-stage liver disease in both children and adults. Advances over the last 2 decades have resulted in excellent patient and graft survival rates in what were previously cases of fatal disorders. These developments have been due to innovations in surgical technique, increased surgical experience, refinements in immunosuppressive regimens, quality improvements in intraoperative anesthetic management, better understanding of the pathophysiology of the liver diseases, and better preoperative and postoperative care. Remarkably, the use of split-liver and living-related liver transplantation surgical techniques has helped mitigate the well-recognized national organ shortage. This review will discuss the major aspects of pediatric liver transplantation as it pertains to indication for transplantation, recipient selection and listing for orthotopic liver transplantation, pre-orthotopic liver transplantation care of children, optimal timing of orthotopic liver transplantation, surgical technical considerations, postoperative care and complications, and patient and graft survival outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA. sukru.emre@yale.edu
authors.forename: Sukru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Emre
authors.forename: Veysel
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Umman
authors.forename: Bayindir
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cimsit
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rosencrantz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017093:Liver Failure / Q000601:surgery*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D019520:Living Donors; D018579:Patient Selection; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents