Liver Transplant Recipients Who Survive for More Than 10 Years: A Long-Term Survey

Abstract

Objectives: Liver transplant is the gold standard treatment for end-stage liver failure. Short-term and midterm surveys have been published, but there are few long-term surveys. Here, we report the outcomes of our long-term liver transplant survivors.

Materials and Methods: Since 1988, wehave performed 694 liver transplants (366 adult, 328 pediatric), including the first deceased donor transplant in Turkey (December 8, 1988); the first pediatric segmental living related transplant in Turkey, the Middle and Near East, and Europe; the world's first adult segmental living related transplant (April 24, 1990); and the world's first living related donor combined liver-kidney transplant (May 16, 1992). We retrospectively evaluated data from recipients who survived >10 years with normal graft function. Results: Of 215 recipients, survival ranges were =20 years (n = 13), 15 to 19 years (n = 86), and 10 to 14 years (n = 116); 211 remain alive today with normal liver function. There were 5 retransplants to treat chronic graft rejection, of which 4 recipients are alive with normal graft function after a second liver transplant (15, 20, 22, and 31 years after first transplant). One patient died soon after the second liver transplant (15 years after first transplant). Acute rejection episodes were seen in 72 (34%), and 7 were steroid resistant. There were 48 (22.7%) drug-induced complications. Ten patients had de novo malignancy: 5 lymphoma, 2 squamous cell carcinoma, 1 gastrointestinal stromal tumor, 1 thyroid papillary carcinoma, and 1 multiple myeloma. There were also 31 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma before liver transplant: 13 were beyond Milan criteria, 6 had incidental HCC, and 12 were within Milan.

Conclusions: Long-term survival after liver transplant is possible with expert care. Few reports have mentioned long-term surveys; our long-term liver transplant survey is among the largest series in the literature.