Liver transplantation center in México with low-volume and excellent results

Background: Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is the treatment of choice for end stage liver disease. Many studies show an inverse relationship between the number of procedures and operative mortality.

Objective: The objective of the study is to show the results of our center and determine if it can have comparable results to high volumen centers.

Method: This is a retrospective study which analyzed the information of patients with OLT at our institution from 1985 to December 31, 2012. Depending on date of transplantation, the study was divided into three stages. Stage 1: from 1985 to 1999. Stage 2: from 2000 to 2007. Stage 3: from 2008 to 2012. In the 1, 2 and 3 stage 22, 37 and 56 OLT were performed respectively.

Results: Perioperative mortality was significantly lower between Stage 3 vs. Stage 1 and 2 (3.5% vs. 50% and 21.7%, p = 0.001). Patient survival was also better at 1 and 5 years at Stage 3 (94.4%, 87.8%) vs. era 2 (77.6%, 66.17%) and Stage 1 (47% and 29%) (p = 0.001).

Conclusion: In conclusion, the present results of OLT at our program are excellent despite being a low-volume center.