The role of histopathology in hepatic transplantation

In hepatic transplantation, the recipient and the graft must manage a difficult symbiosis. The causes that can unbalance the mutual adaptation are various, but the clinical-biochemical hepatic graft syndromes they produce are not specific. Morphological study of the graft shows a distinct pattern for each type of dysfunction etiopathogeny. Such study may find: (1) immune attack: acute rejection or chronic rejection; (2) technical complications in the biliary tract or in the blood perfusion of the graft; (3) nonspecific cholestasis secondary to graft cold ischemia or preceding development of chronic rejection; (4) recurrence of the previous illness: graft infected by hepatitis virus; (5) opportunistic viral infections (cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, herpesvirus, adenovirus); (6) reactions to drugs and toxics; and (7) combinations of several etiologies. Morphological knowledge enables the pathologist to collaborate in hepatic transplantation programs: elaborating protocols, selecting patients, diagnosing hepatic graft dysfunction, and assessing program quality.