Experience in hepatic transplantation. Report of 118 cases

: From February 1978 to November 1989, 118 orthotopic liver transplantations were performed in 106 patients, including 100 adults and 6 children; 11 of these grafts were performed before 1984. The study of this series emphasizes the casuistical peculiarities, with high incidence of alcoholic cirrhosis, 24/106 (22.6%) and of fulminating hepatitis, 17/106 (16%). The study of the results yields a real survival rate of 61% in the total series, 78% for the recent period including the past 3 years, and 86% if excluding the emergent cases. The comments also deal with the changes in the procedure and in postoperative complications, with some immunological issues and with the peculiar features connected with the insertion of this operation into a combined medical and surgical program of multi-organ transplantation.