title: Imaging in pediatric liver transplantation.
abstract: Liver transplantation has become an established curative treatment in adult patients with acute or chronic end-stage liver diseases. In pediatric cases the number of cadaveric donor livers is not sufficient and to overcome the shortage of appropriate-sized whole liver grafts, technical variants of liver transplantation have been practiced. Reduced-size cadaveric and split cadaveric allografts have become an important therapeutic option, expanding the availability of size-appropriate organs for pediatric recipients with terminal liver disease. The number of pediatric deaths awaiting liver transplantation has been reduced by the introduction of living-related liver transplantation, developed to overcome the shortage of suitable grafts for children. It is important for radiologists to know that children have distinct imaging of liver transplantation that distinguish them from adults. A multidisciplinary pediatric liver transplantation team should be skilled in pediatric conditions and in associated processes, risks and complications. Radiologists should know the common pediatric liver diseases that lead to liver transplantation, the anastomotic techniques and the expected postoperative imaging findings. The aim of this study is to illustrate the role of non-invasive imaging such us ultrasonography, color Doppler ultrasonography, multidetector computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in the evaluation of pediatric liver transplantation and in potential liver donors.
authors.affiliation: Imaging Department, Bambino Gesù Children Hospital, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Monti
authors.affiliation: Imaging Department, Bambino Gesù Children Hospital, Rome, Italy. giovanna.soglia@opbg.net.
authors.forename: G
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1767-4661
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Soglia
authors.affiliation: Imaging Department, Bambino Gesù Children Hospital, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tomà
mesh_terms: D064591:Allografts; D001656:Biliary Atresia / Q000175:diagnosis; D002102:Cadaver; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography / Q000379:methods; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color / Q000379:methods
keywords: Biliary atresia; Biliary complications; Liver cancers; Pediatric liver transplantation; Post-transplant vascular