Cutaneous Disorders in Liver Transplant Recipients

Objectives: This study sought to analyze the incidence and risk factors of skin complications in liver transplant recipients. Materials and Methods: Patients with skin biopsies were selected from 408 liver transplant recipients from January 1990 to December 2012 at Baskent University in Ankara, Turkey. Demographic and clinical findings including age, sex, primary liver disease, immunosuppressive therapy, and the time between transplant and cutaneous lesions were examined. Results: There were 38 patients who had skin biopsy after liver transplantation. The mean age at transplantation was 30.5 years. The primary liver disease was hepatocellular carcinoma seconder to viral hepatitis in 15 patients, Wilson disease in 7 patients, criptogenic cirrhosis in 3, familial hypercholesterolemia in 3 patients, and 1 each patients of Byler disease, Caroli disease, tyrosinemia, Budd-Chiari sendrom, congenital hepatic fibrosis, alcholic cirrhosis, and biliar atresia. The primary disease in 3 patients were unknown. The histologic diagnosis included precancerous and cancerous lesions (n=4), infectious diseases (n=4); xanthomatous lesions (n=4); vasculopathic lesions (n=4); melanocytic lesions (n=4); benign adnexial tumors (n=2); skin atrophy (n=2); calcinosis cutis (n=2), keratinous cyst (n=2), neutrophilic dermatosis (n=2), perivascular dermatitis (n=2) and miscellaneous lesions (n=6). Conclusions: We presented the cutaneous manifestations in liver transplant recipients. The most common skin lesion in these patients were precancerous and cancerous lesions, infectious, xanthomatous, and melanocytic lesions. The findings emphasize the importance of dermatologic screening in these patients that can provide early diagnosis and a better quality of life.