Graft failure
It's one of the most serious complications of a liver transplant and occurs in around 1 in every 10 people. The most common cause is a disruption to the blood supply to the transplanted liver, caused by blood clots (thrombosis).
If complications occur, immediate treatment is recommended. Viral infections typically occur beyond the first month following liver transplantation. The most frequent viral infection is the CMV infection, which can be asymptomatic or manifest as CMV disease with leukopenia, thrombopenia, or CMV hepatitis or pneumonia.
Overall, infections are the most frequent cause of mortality in males and females, though they are significantly higher in females. In our cohort, the main causes of mortality within the first year after transplantation were infections and surgical complications in both sexes.
Most vascular complications will develop within 3 months of transplant and should be considered in any patient with an increase in liver function tests (LFTs). Complications include hepatic artery and portal vein thrombosis and stenosis, as well as stenosis of the portal vein, hepatic veins, and inferior vena cava.
Acute rejection — is the most common kind and develops over a short period of time, a few days or weeks. The risk is highest during the first 2 to 3 months, but can also happen a year or more after transplant. Chronic rejection — is a process that occurs slowly and over a long period of time.
What the most common infections? Chest infections are very common after a liver transplant. Usually these infections are fairly easy to treat with a short course of antibiotics. These are usually successfully treated with antibiotics.
Surgical complications after liver transplantation are most frequent within the first 90 days but do occur late after surgery. Common late complications include inci- sional hernias as well as biliary strictures, although rarer complications (HAT and PVT) can result in sub- stantial morbidity.
During the first six weeks after liver transplantation, patients will have frequent blood tests and other exams to monitor liver function and detect any evidence of rejection or infection in the new liver. Longer term patients are asked to return for check-ups about once or twice a year.
Rejection happens in up to 30 in 100 patients. The risk of rejection is highest in the first 6 months after a transplant. After this time, your body's immune system is less likely to recognise the liver as coming from another person. Chronic rejection happens in 2 in 100 patients.
Virus-related cancers, especially non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Kaposi sarcoma, Merkel cell carcinoma, oral (head and neck), cervical and other anogenital cancers occur at increased risk in liver transplant recipients, as do cancers causally associated with smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, including oesophageal, ...
Liver failure
There is a risk that your remaining liver doesn't work after your operation. This is a rare but serious complication and can be life threatening.
Damage to the liver can weaken the immune system. This can make the body more vulnerable to infection, particularly urinary infections and respiratory infections (such as pneumonia).
Possible Complications
Infections (because the person's immune system is suppressed by taking immune-suppressing medicines) Loss of function in the transplanted organ/tissue. Side effects of medicines, which may be severe.
Studies have shown that the occurrence rate for septic complications after liver transplantation was 13% to 41%, which was dependent on the patient's intensive care unit (ICU) stay time.
Liver transplantation is an ultra-major operation and probably the most difficult of all transplant operations. The hospital mortality rate after liver transplantation has ranged from 2% to 16% 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, most series reporting a rate of about 10%.
Within the first 30 days after transplantation, the patient is at greatest risk for healthcare-associated infections, often due to antibiotic-resistant organisms and often polymicrobial in etiology.
Most people live more than 10 years after a liver transplant and many live for up to 20 years or more.
In general, about 75% of people who undergo liver transplant live for at least five years. That means that for every 100 people who receive a liver transplant for any reason, about 75 will live for five years and 25 will die within five years.
Immediate, surgery-related risks of organ donation include pain, infection, hernia, bleeding, blood clots, wound complications and, in rare cases, death. Long-term follow-up information on living-organ donors is limited, and studies are ongoing.
Summary: A typically 'mild' respiratory virus can turn into deadly pneumonia in the vulnerable population of transplant patients, pointing to a need for effective medication and better prevention.
Delayed graft function is the medical term used when a transplant doesn't start working straight away. You may hear your care team talk about your kidney being 'sleepy' or slow to 'wake up'. The main signs are little or no urine and high creatinine levels in your blood tests.