Vascular Complications in Pediatric Liver Transplantation; Single-Center Experience from Singapore

Aim. Vascular complications (VC) are a major cause of significant morbidity and mortality in pediatric liver transplantation (LT). We reviewed our series to study the evolution of vascular reconstructions and its effect on the incidence of VC after LT, particularly with regard to the portal vein (PV). Methods. The medical records of 81 pediatric LT performed in 76 children (38 boys) from 1991 to 2010 in the National University Hospital, Singapore, were reviewed to identify VC pertaining to PV, hepatic artery (HA), and hepatic veins (14V) and to analyse the data for the entire series and in 2 consecutive cohorts: initial 40 LT (group 1) and subsequent 41 LT (group 2). Specific interventions in group 2 were characterized by surgical innovations for reconstruction of the difficult PV and routine use of Doppler ultrasound intraoperatively and postoperatively. Results. The overall incidence of VC was 19.7% (n = 16) and individually HA thrombosis 4.9% (n = 4), HA stenosis 1.2% (n = 1), PV thrombosis 12.3% (n = 9), PV stenosis 1.2% (n = 1), and HV thrombosis 1.2% (n = 1). The overall 1- and 5-year survival rates in our series were 89% and 85%, respectively. The 1- and 5-year survival rates in patients with and without VC were 81.25% and 68.75% and 90.8% and 89.2%, respectively. The incidence of VC decreased from 27.5% in group 1 to 12.1% in group 2 (p = .08). The major contribution to this appears to be a decrease in PV complications from 17.5% in group 1 to 7.3% in group 2 (P = .1). The incidence of HA (3 vs 2) and HV (1 vs 0) complications was similar between the 2 groups. Conclusions. Vascular reconstructions in small recipients are technically challenging and associated with a learning curve. Application of meticulous techniques in general, surgical innovations to the difficult PV in particular and attention to postoperative monitoring contribute toward a major reduction in VC.