Hepatolithiasis After Living Donor Liver Transplantation in Pediatric Patients: Mechanism, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prognosis

Abstract

There is little information about the outcomes of pediatric patients with hepatolithiasis after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). We retrospectively reviewed hepatolithiasis after pediatric LDLT. Between May 2001 and December 2020, 310 pediatric patients underwent LDLT with hepaticojejunostomy. Treatment for 57 patients (18%) with post-transplant biliary strictures included interventions through double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) in 100 times, percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) in 43, surgical re-anastomosis in 4, and repeat liver transplantation in 3. The median age and interval at treatment were 12.3 years old and 2.4 years after LDLT, respectively. At the time of treatments, 23 patients (7%) had developed hepatolithiasis of whom 12 (52%) were diagnosed by computed tomography before treatment. Treatment for hepatolithiasis included intervention through DBE performed 34 times and PTBD 6, including lithotripsy by catheter 23 times, removal of plastic stent in 8, natural exclusion after balloon dilatation in 7, and impossibility of removal in 2. The incidence of recurrent hepatolithiasis was 30%. The 15-years graft survival rates in patients with and without hepatolithiasis were 91% and 89%, respectively (p = 0.860). Although hepatolithiasis after pediatric LDLT can be treated using interventions through DBE or PTBD and its long-term prognosis is good, the recurrence rate is somewhat high.