Survival after liver transplantation of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis in the Nordic countries. Comparison with expected survival in another series of transplantations and in an international trial of medical treatment.

Until December 1988, 38 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) had been transplanted in the Nordic countries. The observed survival probability in accordance with Kaplan-Meier analysis was around 75% 2-3 months after surgery, with few deaths during the next 3 years. The observed survival curve was compared with the expected survival calculated from the experience of a recent English PBC transplant series; the patterns are very similar.

Bile cytology in orthotopic liver transplantation.

The utility of bile cytology (BC) in the diagnosis of hepatic graft rejection was assessed in 21 liver transplantations in 18 patients. A total of 307 BC specimens were studied; cell density and relative contribution of different cell types were monitored in 130 specimens. The findings in 62 fine-needle aspiration biopsies and 9 core needle biopsies (CNB) from the transplants were compared with those of the BC specimens.

Hepatic transplantation in Europe. First Report of the European Liver Transplant Registry.

At the 32 European centres where livers are transplanted the actuarial survival rate for 1218 patients was 44% at 1 year and 41% at 2 years. Perioperative mortality (30 days) was 30%. Recipients aged under 15 years had a higher survival rate than those aged over 15; the differences were 22% at 1 year and 32% at 2 years.

Evidence that host size determines liver size: studies in dogs receiving orthotopic liver transplants.

Orthotopic liver transplantation was performed in two groups of dogs; Group I animals consisted of large dogs that served as recipients of livers obtained from smaller dogs while Group II animals consisted of dogs that received liver from donor dogs of nearly the same size. The small-for-size livers transplanted into the Group I dogs rapidly increased in size over the course of 2 weeks until they achieved a size equal to that originally present in the larger recipient dogs. In contrast, the livers transplanted into dogs of the same size as the donors underwent some degree of atrophy.

Low flow venovenous bypasses in small dogs and pediatric patients undergoing replacement of the liver.

A venovenous bypass for transplantation of the liver was developed and evaluated in dogs and applied clinically, with flows that averaged less than 500 milliliters per minute. Fatal pulmonary emboli were seen in two of 40 experiments. The venovenous flow in the four pediatric recipients was 200 to 1,200 milliliters per minute, and there were no complications.