Post-operative complications requiring hospitalization more than one yr after living donor liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: The long-term outcomes after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) have not been clearly established. This retrospective study assessed long-term outcomes after LDLT through reviewing complications requiring hospitalization more than one yr after engraftment.

METHODS

Sixty-five LDLT recipients alive more than one yr post-transplantation were enrolled, 37 males and 28 females, with a median age at transplantation of 53 yr (range, 0-68 yr). We reviewed all post-operative complications requiring hospitalization more than one yr after LDLT.

RESULTS

There were 61 post-operative complications requiring hospitalization in 43 of the 65 patients (66%), and the majority of these complications were transplantation related (59/61; 97%). Despite this, 43 (78%) of 55 surviving patients had normal liver function at their last follow-up, and 50 patients (91%) achieved normal activity (Karnofsky score 100%).

CONCLUSIONS

More than one-half of our LDLT recipients required hospitalization more than one yr post-LDLT to treat a complication. Most were able to maintain their quality of life and liver function with appropriate treatment.