Vascular Complications with Liver Transplant
One type of complication that can happen after a liver transplant is a vascular complication. This means that a blood vessel has become blocked or a blod clot has formed. One reason vascular complications sometimes occur in children is small blood vessels.
The Liver Care Center team at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center treats vascular complications with blood thinners or possibly additional surgery to remove the blockage or clot.
If a vascular complication occurs after the initial transplant admission, the child may have to be re-admitted to treat the problem.
Types of Vascular Complications
There are two main types of vascular complications:
- Portal vein thrombosis (PVT)
A PVT occurs when a clot has formed in a large vein that helps carry blood from the intestines to a child's liver. - Hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT)
A HAT occurs when a blood clot forms in the hepatic artery, one of the main blood vessels that delivers blood to a child's liver.
Occurrences of Vascular Complications in the Past 25 Liver Transplants at Cincinnati Children's
The graph below shows the number of vascular complications that have occurred during the past 25 liver transplants at Cincinnati Children's.
Last updated January 2007
