Long-term survival, morbidity and mortality after adult liver transplantation

Abstract

Liver transplantation is a treatment option for patients with end-stage liver diseases such as decompensated cirrhosis, acute liver failure, or metabolic liver diseases. From 1991 through 2014, a total of 4,922 adult living-donor liver transplantations and 227 adult deceased-donor liver transplantations (from heart-beating donors) were performed in Japan. Although short-term survival has been improved over time, improving long-term outcomes of long-term liver transplant survivors remains a challenge. They are at risk of morbidity and mortality associated with disease recurrence, systemic diseases, and de novo and recurrent malignancies or infections. The main point of this article is the long-term morbidity and mortality after liver transplantation.