Abstract
We describe a 51-year-old-male. Three months after liver transplantation due to hepatitis C virus (HCV) hepatopathy, an HCV relapse was detected, and partial splenic embolization (PSE) was performed prior to antiviral treatment. Eleven days after PSE emergency splenectomy was performed due to the development of a splenic abscess, which is a rare but severe complication of PSE. Between May 2002 and March 2012, 18 PSEs have been performed in transplant patients in our centre. The patient presented here is the only case of splenic abscess and the only one who has needed surgery after complications of PSE.
Highlights
20–30% of patients who receive a liver transplant due to hepatitis c virus hepatopathy develop cirrhosis before 5 years, and up to 14% experience a serious relapse in the first year after transplantation [1–3]
We describe a 51-year-old male who received a liver transplant secondary to hepatitis C virus (HCV) liver cirrhosis
Three months after liver transplantation a serious HCV relapse was detected by the presence of serious lobular hepatitis in a liver biopsy, with a total bilirubin of 6 mg/dL, HCV viral load of 100,000,000 UI/mL, and hyperglycemia associated with the relapse
Summary
20–30% of patients who receive a liver transplant due to hepatitis c virus hepatopathy develop cirrhosis before 5 years, and up to 14% experience a serious relapse in the first year after transplantation [1–3]. Hypersplenism in these patients results in decreased platelet levels, which does not allow treatment with pegylated interferon (PegIFN) and ribavirin because these drugs are associated with hematological toxicity, especially thrombocytopenia in the case of Peg-IFN. Partial splenic embolization (PSE) is an effective alternative to splenectomy in these patients to correct platelet levels if antiviral treatment is necessary [4– 7]
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