Clinical outcomes of liver transplantation for polycystic liver disease: a single center experience.

Polycystic liver disease (PLD) is a celiopathy characterized by progressive growth of multiple hepatic cysts. In a minority of patients, severe symptomatic hepatomegaly necessitates liver transplantation (LT). The purpose of this study is to describe the postoperative and long-term outcomes of all patients transplanted for PLD at our center. All patients who underwent LT for PLD were identified through our database. Using patient charts, data were extracted on patient demographics and medical history, postoperative surgical and medical complications, length of hospitalization, prevalence of chronic kidney failure, and patient and graft survival. Subjects were contacted in April 2010 to verify their survival and confirm their need, if any, for hemodialysis and/or kidney transplantation. Descriptive statistics for patient and graft survival were performed. From 1993 to 2010, 14 subjects underwent LT and 1 subject underwent combined kidney and LT; all subjects were female and the mean age was 49.0 years. 10 (66.7%) subjects had polycystic kidney disease. Patients experienced a high rate of vascular complications, including hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT) or stenosis in 3 (20%) and 2 (13.3%) subjects, respectively. One subject had early graft loss due to HAT and underwent re-transplantation. The mean length of hospitalization was 18.8 days. After a mean of 66.8 months of follow-up (3-200), 13 (86.7%) subjects are alive with satisfactory graft function, and no patients had renal failure. In conclusion, patients who underwent LT for PLD had a high rate of postoperative vascular complications. However, long-term patient and graft survival, and kidney function, is excellent.