Liver Retransplantation: The Changing Scenario in a Tertiary Medical Center

To analyze the causes of liver retransplantation (LRT), which mostly depend on recipient factors.

A descriptive, observational, and unicentric study including patients who underwent an LRT in a tertiary medical center between April 2002 and December 2018. Recipient, donor, and liver transplant data were collected.

During the period under review a total of 468 transplants were made; among them, 32 (6.8%) were LRT. The most common indication (25%) was hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT) developing ischemic cholangiopathy followed by chronic rejection (21.8%). Late LRT was performed in 71.8%. A total of 96.8% of donations were after brain death with a donor median age of 65 years. Six patients (18.7%) had HAT as a postoperative complication. The recipients' 3-, 6-, and 12-month overall survival was 72.7%, 54.6%, and 51.5%, respectively, and the 5-year was 46.8%. Leading cause of death was septic shock (42.1%).

In our patients, the most common cause of LRT is HAT. We had an LRT rate of 6.8%, which is consistent with national and international registers.