The use of a nonvascularized FoRM is a novel and simple surgical option to resolve complex abdominal wall defects in liver/intestinal/multivisceral transplant recipients when it can be covered with the recipient skin.

In this single-institution study, we compared outcomes in diabetic recipients of living donor (LD) kidney transplants that did vs. did not undergo a subsequent pancreas transplant. Of 307 diabetic recipients who underwent LD kidney transplants from January 1, 1995, through December 31, 2003, a total of 175 underwent a subsequent pancreas after kidney (PAK) transplant; 75 were deemed eligible (E) for, but did not receive (for personal or financial reasons), a PAK, and thus had a kidney transplant alone (KTA); and 57 deemed ineligible (I) for a PAK because of comorbidity also had just a KTA. We analyzed the three groups (PAK, KTA-E, KTA-I) for differences in patient characteristics, glycemic control, renal function, patient and kidney graft survival rates, and causes of death. Kidney graft survival rates (actuarial) were similar in the PAK vs. KTA-E groups at one, five, and 10 yr post-transplant: 98%, 82%, and 67% (PAK) vs. 100%, 84%, and 62% (KTA-E) (p = 0.9). The long-term (greater than four yr post-transplant) estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was higher in the PAK than in the KTA-E group: 53 +/- 20 mL/min (PAK) vs. 43 +/- 16 mL/min (KTA-E) (p = 0.016). The patient survival rates were also similar for the PAK and KTA-E groups. We conclude that the subsequent transplant of a pancreas after an LD kidney transplant does not adversely affect patient or kidney graft survival rates; in fact, it is associated with better long-term kidney graft function.

Recently, donation after cardiac death (DCD) has been encouraged in order to expand the donor pool. We present a case of anaplastic T-cell lymphoma transmitted to four recipients of solid organ transplants from a DCD donor suspected of having bacterial meningitis. On brain biopsy, the donor was found to have anaplastic central nervous system T-cell lymphoma, and the recipient of the donor's pancreas, liver and kidneys were found to have involvement of T-cell lymphoma. The transplanted kidneys and pancreas were excised from the respective recipients, and the kidney and pancreas recipients responded well to chemotherapy. The liver recipient underwent three cycles of chemotherapy, but later died due to complications of severe tumor burden. We recommend transplanting organs from donors with suspected bacterial meningitis only after identification of the infectious organism. In cases of lymphoma transmission, excision of the graft may be the only chance at long-term survival.

Intestinal transplantation has evolved over time to become a clinically accepted therapy for patients with intestinal failure. Short- and long-term results have improved. The surgical procedures have been standardized and the applications broaden, but there have been recently published refinements that might affect the future results of clinical intestinal transplantation and guide research.

Grafts from split livers (SLs) constitute an accepted approach to expand the donor pool. Over the last 5 years, most Argentinean centers have shown significant interest in increasing the use of this technique. The purpose of this article is to describe and analyze the outcomes of right-side grafts (RSGs) and left-side grafts (LSGs) from a multicenter study. The multicenter retrospective study included data from 111 recipients of SL grafts from between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2013. Incidence of surgical complications, patient and graft survival, and factors that affected RSG and LSG survival were analyzed. Grafts types were 57 LSG and 54 RSG. Median follow-up times for LSG and RSG were 46 and 42 months, respectively. The 36-month patient and graft survivals for LSG were 83% and 79%, respectively, and for RSG were 78% and 69%, respectively. Retransplantation rates for LSG and RSG were 3.5% and 11%, respectively. Arterial complications were the most common cause of early retransplantation (less than 12 months). Cold ischemia time (CIT) longer than 10 hours and the use of high-risk donors (age 40 years or body mass index 30 kg/m 2 or 5 days intensive care unit stay) were independent factors for diminished graft survival in RSG. None of the analyzed variables were associated with worse graft survival in LSG. Biliary complications were the most frequent complications in both groups (57% in LSG and 33% in RSG). Partial grafts obtained from liver splitting are an excellent option for patients in need of liver transplantation and have the potential to alleviate the organ shortage. Adequate donor selection and reducing CIT are crucial for optimizing results. Liver transplantation (LT) performed with split liver (SL) grafts may currently be considered a safe and effective resource to alleviate the organ shortage. Over the past years, multiple review articles have shown results that are similar to those obtained in transplantations performed with whole organs. [1][2][3][4] Nevertheless, in the majority of countries, the strategy remains underused, despite its known potential to decrease mortality on the pediatric waiting list without harming adults waiting for LT, resulting in a net benefit for health care systems by providing the possibility to optimize the use of a scarce resource. [5][6][7] Over the last 5 years in most Argentinean centers, there has been significant interest in increasing the use of this technique.The aim of this study was to report the results of SL transplantations over the past 5 years in Argentina

No abstract

SummaryThe aim of this study was to identify potential risk factors linked to neurologic events (NE) occurring after liver transplantation (LT) and use them to construct a model to predict such events. From odds ratios (OR) of risk factors, a scoring system was assessed using multivariate regression analysis. Forty-one of 307 LT patients presented NE (13.3%), with prolonged hospital stay and decreased post-LT survival. On multivariate analysis, factors associated with NE included: severe pre-LT ascites OR 3.9 (1.80-8.41; P = 0.001), delta sodium ≥12 mEq/l OR 3.5 (1.36-8.67; P = 0.01), and post-LT hypomagnesemia OR 2.9 (1.37-5.98; P = 0.005). Points were assigned depending on ORs as follows: ascites 4 points, and hypomagnesemia and delta sodium ≥12 mEq/l, 3 points each (score range = 0-10 points). ROC curve analysis suggested good discriminative power for the model, with a c-statistic of 0.72 (CI 0.62-0.81; P < 0.0001), best performance for a cutoff value >3 points (71% sensitivity, 60% specificity). NE risk increased progressively from 6.4%, to 10.3%, 12.8%, 31.5% and 71.0% as scores rose from 0 to 3, 4, 6-7 and 10 cumulative points, respectively. The score described helps to identify patients potentially at risk for neurologic events, and its prevention would decrease morbidity and mortality after LT.

Although overall results are comparable to other regions worldwide, pre-LT treatment not only considering imaging data but also AFP values should be contemplated during the next years.