Orthotopic liver transplantation in a pediatric patient with iatrogenic Budd-Chiari syndrome complicated by bronchobiliary fistula

Living donor liver transplantation on pediatric patient with Budd-Chiari syndrome: Case report and literature review

INTRODUCTION

The management of Budd-Chiari syndrome is determined on the basis of the severity of the disease. There are no standard guidelines regarding the management of Budd-Chiari syndrome in children, particularly in cases of liver transplantation. Therefore, we present a case of a pediatric patient with Budd-Chiari syndrome treated with liver transplantation.

CASE PRESENTATION

A female patient aged 1 year and 8 months presented to the hospital with an enlarged stomach in the last 1.5 months before admission. The patient was moderately ill, malnourished, and jaundiced. Liver biopsy revealed fibrosis in the portal area and confluent necrosis caused by vascular disorders. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a nutmeg liver and ascites due to the stenosis of the inferior vena cava at the level of the liver and the middle and left hepatic veins. The patient underwent living-donor liver transplantation. The occlusion of the proximal right hepatic vein due to the presence of a membrane was identified as the cause of Budd-Chiari syndrome in this case. Postoperatively, the patient's condition was stable and there was no sepsis or any other complications.

CLINICAL DISCUSSION

Prothrombotic factors are often the underlying cause of more than 80 % of Budd-Chiari syndrome cases. Protein C deficiency is suspected to be a prothrombotic factor that triggers Budd-Chiari syndrome in patients. Liver transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients with Budd-Chiari syndrome who were not treated with anticoagulation therapy, angioplasty, and TIPS.

CONCLUSION

Living-donor liver transplantation has a good outcome in the management of pediatric patients with Budd-Chiari syndrome.

Delayed diagnosis of bronchobiliary fistula complicating a pediatric living donor liver transplantation: a case report

Bronchobiliary fistula (BBF) is a very rare condition in children. Only a few pediatric BBF cases have been reported, in the context of a ruptured hydatid cyst or liver abscess. BBF after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has not been reported in the pediatric literature. We report a 7-year-old female child with Wilson disease, who developed BBF post-LDLT. She had a clinically uneventful course in the immediate post-transplant period. She was readmitted on postoperative day (POD) 75 with a productive cough and respiratory difficulty, which was diagnosed as bilioptysis secondary to BBF. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreaticography was attempted but failed. Exploratory laparotomy showed a fistula from the strictured biliary anastomotic site to the right thoracic cavity; it was excised, and a Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy was performed. She tolerated the procedure well and remained clinically well on follow-up through POD 185. BBF is extremely rare in children. This is the first case report of BBF in a child following LDLT. BBF requires a high index of suspicion for a timely intervention to prevent subsequent complications.

Acute Budd-Chiari syndrome during hepatic vein catheterization

This case report describes a 4-year-old male with a history of hepatoblastoma, treated with chemotherapy followed by a right extended hepatectomy. Secondary to this, the patient experienced recurrent hepatic vein stenosis. He was treated initially with conventional angioplasty, followed by paclitaxel-coated balloon dilatations in an attempt to prevent episodes of re-stenosis. During the catheterization of the hepatic vein in one of the treatments, hemodynamic instability due to an acute Budd-Chiari syndrome occurred. The hemodynamic compromise became unresponsive to intravascular resuscitation and inotropic support. The patient was then treated with an emergency conventional angioplasty of the hepatic vein, which resulted in a rapid response and eventually in a full recovery. The etiology of this complication remains unclear; however, it may have been secondary to endothelial damage leading to acute thrombosis and/or venous spasm. Conventional angioplasty was successful in managing this complication. Awareness of iatrogenic acute Budd-Chiari syndrome as a potentially fatal complication during hepatic catheterization/dilatation, especially in the posthepatectomy setting, successful management of this complication, and the importance of a multidisciplinary and rapid response, is emphasized.