Pediatric Liver Transplantation: A Surgical Perspective and New Concepts

The first successful liver transplantation was carried out in 1967, and the recipient was a pediatric patient. Since then, many challenges have been overcome and, nowadays, 1-year patient survival after liver transplantation is about 90 % in pediatric patient populations. Standardization of surgical technique, development of better immunosuppressive medications, improved understanding of caring for patients with end-stage liver disease, and improvements in anesthesia and intensive care have had a tremendous impact on graft and patient survival. Despite all improvements, challenging issues in pediatric liver transplantation remain. In this article, we address some of these problems.