The outcome of the first 165 orthotopic liver transplants in Scotland

The Scottish Liver Transplant Unit is now in its sixth year of existence. We present the outcome of the first 165 transplants which have at least 12 months follow up. The overall patient (n = 143) survival rates at 1, 3 and 5 years were 86.6%, 79.3% and 74.7% and the graft survival rates were 76.9%, 69.1% and 64.8%. The one year survival rate for patients with chronic liver disease (n = 113) was 89.2% compared with 76.6% for acute liver failure (Breslow = 0.05). The one year survival rate for the first 71 patients receiving their primary graft was 81.7% compared with 91.5% for the subsequent 71 patients (Breslow = 0.09). The majority of deaths (n = 29) were due to sepsis (n = 7), at operation (n = 6) or due to graft vascular insufficiency (n = 4). There were two cases of de novo haematological malignancy. The outcome of the first 165 transplants in Scotland compares very well with other countries throughout the world.