The First Two Liver Transplantations in Syria

Liver transplantation (LT) is the only curative therapy for the end-stage liver diseases and some metabolic disorders which affect the hepatic cell like the Crigler-Najjar syndrome type 1 (CNSI). Although the LT is a routine procedure in many centers worldwide, the postoperative complications such as rejection, arterial thrombosis, and infection remain serious challenges even in big centers. In our paper, we demonstrate the first two LTs in Syria. The first one was performed on 6 February 2016 for an 11-year-old boy suffering from CNSI using an auxiliary LT, but unfortunately, he had a hepatic artery and portal vein thrombosis, so we removed the necrotic graft on the fifth postoperative day, and he survived. The second LT was for a 9-year-old boy, who had cryptogenic liver cirrhosis, and he lived for 31 days after the transplantation. In both transplants, grafts were obtained from living relative donors.