Background Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), first described by Durand-Fardel in 1840, is a malignant neoplasm arising from epithelial cells of the extrahepatic and intrahepatic bile ducts, excluding the papilla of Vater and the gallbladder. CCA is the second most common primary hepatobiliary…
Fifty years have passed since the first liver transplantation was performed by Thomas E. Starzl. Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) has become the recommended treatment in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cirrhosis, as well as for other selected tumors. This…
Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic necroinflammatory liver disease of unknown etiology characterized by the presence of various circulating autoantibodies, hypergammaglobulinemia, and interface hepatitis of predominant lymphoplasmacytic necroinflammatory infiltration on histological examination. AIH reflects a complex interaction between triggering factors,…
Sclerosing cholangitis is characterized by chronic biliary duct inflammation, subsequently resulting in fibrotic stricturing and duct obliteration. Biliary cirrhosis follows, with progression to complications of end-stage liver disease, liver failure, and the need for liver transplantation. Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC)…
Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease of unknown etiology characterized by lymphocytic cholangitis and segmental destruction of intralobular bile ducts within the liver. Patients with PBC may progress gradually to cirrhosis, liver failure, and ultimately death…
Data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) and the European Liver Transplant Registry (ELTR) indicate comparable levels of liver transplantation for fulminant hepatic failure (FHF), representing around 8% of overall organ utilization. A single-center (King’s College Hospital) experience…
Advances in medical management and surgical techniques have resulted in significant improvements in posttransplant survival rates for patients with transplants from both deceased and living donors, with 74% and 79% of patients, and 60% and 74% of patients, respectively, alive…
Hepatitis C is a major cause of chronic liver disease worldwide and remains the leading indication for liver transplantation in the United States and western Europe. The epidemiological characteristics of chronic hepatitis C infection are evolving and leading to more…
In the United States and Europe 5% to 10% of patients undergoing liver transplantation (LT) have hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated chronic or fulminant liver disease. In Asia it is the most common indication for LT. Results of LT have been…
Liver transplantation (LT) is now a widely accepted lifesaving therapy for the complications of cirrhosis and acute liver failure. Before the availability of LT, medical management provided a temporizing measure but not a definitive cure for the complications of end-stage…