[Tonsillectomy in a boy liver transplant]

As of 1995, organ transplantation from cadaver donors is under debate in the Japanese Diet. Depending on what the Diet decides, more organ transplantations may be performed. Since cases of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) may increase, the need to perform surgical operations in post-OLT patients may arise. The purpose of this report is to enlighten Japanese otorhinolaryngologists on the post-transplant state. An 8-year-old boy who underwent OLT in Australia 7 years previously underwent successful tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy and insertion of ventilation tubes into both ears under general anesthesia (GA) to treat habitual angina, hypertrophy of the nasopharyngeal and palatine tonsils, and secretory otitis media. The optimal circumstances for operation require adequate but not excessive immunosuppression and a well-functioning graft. Vascular complications (VCs) such as hepatic artery thrombosis become rare after a few years post-OLT. However, once VCs occur the mortality rate of OLT patients is high, and excessive perioperative changes in circulation must be avoided. Immunosuppressive agents should be continued throughout the perioperative period and perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis should be employed, just as in non-transplant patients. Tonsillectomy is an effective means of prophylaxis for upper respiratory infection in habitual angina patients. Infection of an OLT patient may become critical because immunosuppressive agents to prevent rejection lower immune barriers and increase the risk of infection, and dose reduction may increase the risk of rejection. Tonsillectomy may also prevent a possible lympho-proliferative disorder (LPD). Tonsillar hypertrophy in OLT patients may be due to life-threatening LPD. Thus, tonsillectomy serves both as a prophylactic and curative measure against possible complications OLT may cause later, and therefore may improve the outcome of OLT.