Background: Portal vein (PV) stenosis is sometimes seen in pediatric living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). PV stents have been attempted in adults with persistent stenosis. However, long-term usefulness of PV stenting is unknown because stents do not expand with growth. We investigated the effect and long-term outcome of PV stenting for stenosis after pediatric LDLT.
Methods: We included patients aged <18 years who underwent LDLT from 1998 to 2020 and who underwent PV stenting for stenosis. We assessed age at procedure, stent complications, and long-term outcomes.
Results: Five patients underwent PV stent placement. The median age at LDLT was 10 years (range, 0.8-18.1 years). The median interval between LDLT and stent placement was 25 months. The median age at stent placement was 16 years (range, 3-20 years). The median body weight was 38 kg (range, 13-63 kg). The median stent diameter was 8 mm. The median observation period after stent placement was 8 years. On average, body weight increased 1.6 times. One complication associated with stent placement was PV thrombosis, which resulted in stent failure, but we observed no portal hypertension. In the other 4 patients, the stent has remained functioning, and there was no clinical evidence of portal hypertension.
Conclusions: PV stents are effective for intractable PV stenosis in children. PV stents were successfully placed in children as young as 3 years old and weighing 13 kg. Our data suggests that a stent placed in young children does not cause portal hypertension as patients grow.
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