Published online Aug 27, 2023. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v15.i8.1615
Peer-review started: January 19, 2023
First decision: March 14, 2023
Revised: March 27, 2023
Accepted: June 25, 2023
Article in press: June 25, 2023
Published online: August 27, 2023
Processing time: 217 Days and 16.6 Hours
The shortage of liver grafts and subsequent waitlist mortality led us to expand the donor pool using liver grafts from older donors.
There are no studies analyzing the incidence and outcomes of biliary complications (BC) in patients older and younger than 70 years.
The aim of this study was to determine the incidence, outcomes, and risk factors for BC in liver transplantation (LT) using liver grafts from donors aged > 70 years.
A retrospective case-control study was performed comparing patients who developed biliary complications with patients who did not after liver transplantation with donors ≥ 70 years.
Twenty-one patients (8.4%) developed biliary complications (13 anastomotic strictures, 7 biliary leakages, and 1 non-anastomotic biliary stricture). There were no significant differences in the patient and graft survival between the groups. Only three deaths were related to biliary complications. Female donors were protective factors for biliary complications and donor cardiac arrest was a risk factor.
The incidence of biliary complications was relatively low on using liver grafts > 70 years.
Prospective studies are necessary to confirm these results. It would be interesting to analyze the diameter of the bile duct and technical aspects when we perform the anastomosis.