Graft Failure From Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Disease After a Liver Transplant: A Case Report

Hepatic veno-occlusive disease after liver transplant is rare but potentially fatal. Here, we describe a case of veno-occlusive disease occurring after a liver transplant patient, which resulted in graft failure.

A 44-year-old woman developed severe ascites accompanied with jaundice, for 1 month after a liver transplant that could not be explicated by common complications. Veno-occlusive disease was diagnosed basing on clinical, pathologic, and radiologic findings. The definitive pathogenesis was difficult to determine. The patient could not show any response to medical therapy, and her deteriorated clinical condition developed to hepatic failure, which called for retransplant.

Veno-occlusive disease after a liver transplant can result in graft failure, and re-transplant may be the only alternative resource in critical case.