title: Liver Transplant for Fulminant Hepatic Failure: A Single-Center Experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Acute liver failure is a life-threatening condition with sudden onset liver injury, decreased liver functions, hepatic encephalopathy, and coagulopathy in patients without preexisting liver disease. In this study, we sought to evaluate the results of liver transplant as a treatment for acute liver failure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between November 1988 and March 2015, we performed 482 liver transplants in 471 patients. We performed 36 liver transplants in 35 patients because of acute liver failure. Only 5 of these were from deceased donors. Thirty of those 34 patients were pediatric (85%) and 5 were adults (15%).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five patients died (4 in early postoperative period and 1 during the 18th month of living-donor liver transplant). We diagnosed 11 acute rejections (32%); 6 biliary leaks (17%); 6 intraabdominal hemorrhage (17%); 5 hepatic arterial thromboses (15%), and 1 venous complication (3%) during the early postoperative period. We have no morbidity or mortality in living-donor liver transplants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Living-donor liver transplants are an efficient and successful treatment for acute liver failure patients. In our center, we mostly consider and prefer living-donor liver transplants to deceased-donor liver transplant because of the paucity of organ donation, especially for pediatric patients. Considering acceptable postoperative complications, living-donor liver transplant is a lifesaving treatment for acute liver failure.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery and Transplantation, Baskent University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mahir
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kirnap
authors.forename: Aydincan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Akdur
authors.forename: Figen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ozcay
authors.forename: Ebru
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Soy
authors.forename: Sedat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yildirim
authors.forename: Gokhan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moray
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haberal
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000209:etiology; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D017114:Liver Failure, Acute / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality; D019520:Living Donors; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014421:Turkey; D055815:Young Adult