| Theme |
Renal Transplantation in Organ-Sharing-Network |
| Title |
Current status and future of liver transplantation |
| Author |
Takashi Omura |
The First Department of Surgery, Hokkaido University, School of Medicine |
| Author |
Hideyasu Sakihama |
The First Department of Surgery, Hokkaido University, School of Medicine |
| Author |
Yoshiaki Maeda |
The First Department of Surgery, Hokkaido University, School of Medicine |
| Author |
Akihiro Kishida |
The First Department of Surgery, Hokkaido University, School of Medicine |
| Author |
Hiroyuki Furukawa |
The First Department of Surgery, Hokkaido University, School of Medicine |
| Author |
Satoru Todo |
The First Department of Surgery, Hokkaido University, School of Medicine |
| [ Summary ] |
Liver transplantation is the only therapeutic option for end-stage liver disease. Over 8,000 transplants a year have been performed world wide, with the average 5 year survival rate being 75%. Organ shortage is the most serious obstacle for wider application. Recurrent disease has become one of the central concerns in post operative patient management.
Because of the excellent results obtained, living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has gained global acceptance as an effective liver transplant modality. In Japan, more than 1,000 LDLTs have been performed and this procedure has been expanded to adult patients. Important issues include small-for-size graft, donor safety, and medical cost. |