The measurement of surgical outcomes, especially in cardiac surgery, has been extensively researched.1 In liver transplantation, several models have been used to identify factors associated with outcomes. [2][3][4][5][6] However, most models are based on data from a single centre; thus their results cannot confidently be extrapolated to other populations of individuals receiving transplants. Furthermore, the models are restricted to an assessment of survival at 12 months after transplantation. Although mortality at 12 months reflects surgical mortality, it also captures mortality associated with recurrent disease, chronic rejection, and retransplantation. Mortality rates at timepoints earlier than 12 months predominantly include surgical mortality, however, and could be associated with different factors to those linked to mortality at 1 year.Data from the European Liver Transplant Registry (ELTR) have been used to establish the intrinsic mortality risk associated with liver transplantation without identified risk factors;8 the results of the study by Adam and colleagues suggest that every centre could assess its own performance by combining this risk with the quoted relative risk ratios of known risk factors. However, the approach used to estimate the risk ratios (proportional hazards regression) does not provide absolute expected mortality rates, thereby limiting the practical application of these results. Furthermore, the results were based on transplants undertaken up to December, 1997. As survival continues to improve after liver transplantation, these models need to be updated. Our aim, therefore, was to assess 3-month and 12-month mortality after first liver transplantation in a cohort of adult recipients from the ELTR who had transplants up to 2003. Methods PopulationThe ELTR database contains information about all liver transplants done in 23 European countries since 1968. 9The methods used to obtain the data and details of the data collected have been described previously, 8 and SummaryBackground Mortality after liver transplantation depends on heterogeneous recipient and donor factors. Our aim was to assess risk of death and to develop models to help predict mortality after liver transplantation.

Over the last 15 years, various oncology groups throughout the world have used the PRETEXT system for staging malignant primary liver tumours of childhood. This paper, written by members of the radiology and surgery committees of the International Childhood Liver Tumor Strategy Group (SIOPEL), presents various clarifications and revisions to the original PRETEXT system.

In EBV-infected pediatric liver transplant recipients, use of OKT3 or antithymocyte globulin and high tacrolimus blood levels are risk factors for a significant increase in the incidence of PTLD. An increase in total gamma-globulin level and appearance of mono/oligoclonal immunoglobulin production are the major preliminary signs of the syndrome.

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Approaches to the management of portal hypertension and variceal hemorrhage in pediatrics remain controversial, in large part because they are not well informed by rigorous clinical studies. Fundamental biological and clinical differences preclude automatic application of approaches used for adults to children. On April 11-12, 2015, experts in the field convened at the first Baveno Pediatric Satellite Meeting to discuss and explore current available evidence regarding indications for MesoRex bypass (MRB) in extrahepatic portal vein obstruction and the role of primary prophylaxis of variceal hemorrhage in children. Consensus was reached regarding MRB. The vast majority of children with extrahepatic portal vein obstruction will experience complications that can be prevented by successful MRB surgery. Therefore, children with extrahepatic portal vein obstruction should be offered MRB for primary and secondary prophylaxis of variceal bleeding and other complications, if appropriate surgical expertise is available, if preoperative and intraoperative evaluation demonstrates favorable anatomy, and if appropriate multidisciplinary care is available for postoperative evaluation and management of shunt thrombosis or stenosis. In contrast, consensus was not achieved regarding primary prophylaxis of varices. Although variceal hemorrhage is a concerning complication of portal hypertension in children, the first bleed appears to be only rarely fatal and the associated morbidity has not been well characterized

The recent introduction of the meso Rex bypass raises a possible paradigm shift in the therapeutic approach to extra-hepatic portal vein obstruction (EHPVO). Long-term follow-up of patients with EHPVO has revealed a variety of complications including variceal hemorrhage, hypersplenism, biliopathy, growth/development retardation and neuropsychiatric disease. The meso Rex bypass restores physiologic blood flow to the liver. Thus, when feasible, the meso Rex bypass should be considered in patients with clinically significant manifestations of EHPVO. The opinions of a panel of experts regarding the surgical approach to the management of EHPVO are presented.

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