Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease in tonsils of children with liver transplantation.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the incidence and characteristics of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) in tonsils of the liver transplanted children.

METHODS

All patients under 14 years of age recipients of a liver transplant at the institution and operated on for tonsillectomy under suspicion of malignancy were included in this study.

RESULTS

Seven patients underwent surgery on their tonsils under suspicion of PTLD. One case of B-cell lymphoma, and three cases of polymorphic diffuse B-cell hyperplasia were found. This represents an incidence of 1.4% of PTLD in the tonsils of the 283 pediatric liver transplants performed at the hospital.

CONCLUSION

The incidence of PTLD in tonsils after liver transplantation is very low at the institution. However, it is very important to follow-up allograft recipients for early diagnosis of this entity.