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Dear colleagues and friends,
 
After record-breaking abstract submissions, ILTS and its Canadian co-hosts are preparing to welcome you to the world's premier liver transplant meeting, the ILTS Annual Congress in Toronto, 15-18 May, 2019. Register now to join us at the year’s best venue for liver transplant science and networking.
  
We also invite you to browse a new newsletter feature: selections and commentary on just-published papers by members of the ILTS Vanguard Committee. See ‘What we’re reading’ below - a great way to stay up-to-date!
 
Another exciting initiative this month is the launch of ILTS Special Interest Groups (SIGs), which will connect and support members with a common interest in specific topics in liver transplantation. SIGs will develop dedicated online forums, education modules, registry projects and multicenter research, as well as congress sessions and special meetings. Read more about SIGs below. 
 
ILTS is also planning new member discounts, reflecting its growing membership in emerging regions. Group memberships and affiliations with regional societies will enable 20-68% off the standard membership fee. We hope to welcome many new members in 2019!
 
Enjoy the newsletter and ‘Let’s Talk in Toronto’ !


Nancy Kwan Man
ILTS President
UPCOMING ILTS MEETINGS
Help us connect the liver transplant community:
forward this newsletter to your colleagues!
ILTS 2019 Annual Congress – Toronto, May 15-18, 2019: Innovation and Excellence in Liver Transplantation
 
ILTS Annual Congress 2019:  Detailed Program and Special Events
 
The detailed program for the ILTS Congress 2019 is now online! Get a quick overview of the main sessions for hepatologists, anesthesiologists, surgeons and pediatricians and check out the iPlanner for all sessions, including concurrent oral abstracts, workshops, poster sessions etc.
 
In addition to over 40 sessions, the congress will also feature the following special events:
  • The Pre-Meeting Symposium on Transplant Oncology that will explore different perspectives on the future of multidisciplinary management in this rapidly evolving field.
  • The Organ Perfusion Workshop will cover the existing technology available today in liver preservation and perfusion
  • The TTE and TEE Workshops will teach participants how to obtain the basic perioperative echocardiographic views using a TEE/TTE simulator
  • Find out more about ILTS special events
  • Vanguard Sessions for younger ILTS clinicians incl. a symposium on ‘Managing the Recipient with Diffuse Portal Vein Thrombosis’
  • The Rising Star Symposium that will spotlight young researchers in transplantation
  • Sessions for Women in Transplantation will cover a host of topics including mentorship, career promotion, gender equity, and women’s health before after liver transplantation.
The ILTS Annual Congress is the premier meeting for clinicians and scientists  specialized in liver transplantation. Don’t miss out on this exceptional global networking event!
REGISTER NOW

ILTS PERIOPERATIVE  MEETING, OCTOBER 18, 2019
CALL FOR CASES!

You are now invited to submit a case study to the ILTS 2019 Perioperative Care in Liver Transplantation Meeting. You can find a template for submission here.

Please make sure to adhere to the following guidelines:
  • Learning objectives (50 words)
  • Short description of your educational case (300 words)
  • All submissions must be submitted in English
Please send your submissions to ilts-periopscience@kit-group.org.
Kindly submit your case by 1 May 2019
 
MORE INFORMATION
 WHAT WE'RE READING 
The March issue of Transplantation, the official Journal of the International Liver Transplantation Society and the Transplantation Society, is out now.

A must read for everyone working in the field of liver transplantation.
Free access for ILTS members!


Scientific Reports (OPEN ACCESS)

Long term results of down-staging and liver transplantation for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma beyond the conventional criteria

The objective of the study is to evaluate 10 years of down-staging strategy for liver transplantation (LT) with a median follow-up of 5 years. Data on long-term results are poor and less information is available for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) non-responder patients or those ineligible for down-staging. The outcome of 308 HCC candidates and the long-term results of 231 LTs for HCC performed between 2003 and 2013 were analyzed. Read more
See commentary by Prashant Bhangui

 
Gastroenterology

Factors Associated with Survival of Patients With Severe Acute-On-Chronic Liver Failure Before and After Liver Transplantation

Liver transplantation for patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) with 3 or more failing organs (ACLF-3) is controversial. We compared liver waitlist mortality or removal according to model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score vs ACLF category. We also studied factors associated with reduced odds of survival for 1 year after liver transplantation in patients with ACLF-3. Read more
See commentary by Eleonora De Martin


 

Annals of Surgery

Surgical Techniques and Long-term Outcomes of Living-donor Liver Transplantation With Inferior Vena Cava Replacement Using Atriocaval Synthetic Interposition Graft for Budd-Chiari Syndrome

We aimed to describe our living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) surgical technique and its long-term patency for patients with Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) and retrohepatic inferior vena cava (IVC) obstruction that extends up to the atrium. Read more
See commentary by Prashant Bhangui



Liver Transplantation
Association of Pretransplant Renal Function With Liver Graft and Patient Survival After Liver Transplantation in Patients With Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is one of the top 3 indications for liver transplantation (LT) in Western countries. It is unknown whether renal dysfunction at the time of LT has any effect on post-LT outcomes in recipients with NASH. From the United Network for Organ Sharing-Standard Transplant Analysis and Research data set, we identified 4088 NASH recipients who received deceased donor LT. Read more
See commentary by Eleonora De Martin

 

Pediatric Transplantation

First report of successful transplantation of a pediatric donor liver graft after hypothermic machine perfusion

One of the main limiting factors in pediatric liver transplantation is donor availability. For adults, DCD liver grafts are increasingly used to expand the donor pool. To improve outcome after DCD liver transplantation, ex situ machine perfusion is used as an alternative organ preservation strategy, with the supplemental value of providing oxygen to the graft during preservation. We here report the first successful transplantation of a pediatric DCD liver graft after hypothermic oxygenated machine perfusion. Read more
See commentary by Prashant Bhangui

 
Hepatology

Clinical Consequences of Cardiomyopathy in Children With Biliary Atresia Requiring Liver Transplantation

Cirrhotic cardiomyopathy (CCM), a comorbidity of end-stage cirrhotic liver disease, remains uncharacterized in children, largely because of a lack of an established pediatric definition. The aim of this retrospective cohort analysis is to derive objective two-dimensional echocardiographic (2DE) criteria to define CCM associated with biliary atresia (BA), or BA-CCM, and correlate presence of BA-CCM with liver transplant (LT) outcomes in this population. Read more
See commentary by Eleonora De Martin

 


Transplantation (FREE TO ILTS MEMBERS)
Domino Liver Transplant in Maple Syrup Urine Disease: Technical Details of Cases in Which the First Surgery Involved a Living Donor
Data describing the technical aspects of living donor (LD) domino liver transplantation (DLT) in maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) are limited. The largest published series includes only 3 cases. One great challenge of this procedure is to ensure adequate vascular stumps for the LD, the MSUD patient, and the recipient of the domino graft. Here, we describe our experience in 11 cases of LD-DLT in MSUD. Read more
Transplantation (FREE TO ILTS MEMBERS)

Fibrinolysis Shutdown Is Associated With Thrombotic and Hemorrhagic Complications and Poorer Outcomes After Liver Transplantation

Detrimental consequences of hypofibrinolysis, also known as fibrinolysis shutdown (FS), have recently arisen, and its significance in liver transplantation (LT) remains unknown. To fill this gap, this retrospective study included 166 adults who received transplants between 2016 and 2018 for whom baseline thromboelastography was available. On the basis of percent of clot lysis 30 minutes after maximal amplitude, patients were stratified into 3 fibrinolysis phenotypes. Read more

Transplantation (FREE TO ILTS MEMBERS)

Poor Cardiorespiratory Fitness Is a Risk Factor for Sepsis in Patients Awaiting Liver Transplantation

Patients with advanced liver disease are at increased risk of infection and other complications. A significant proportion of patients also have poor fitness and low muscle mass. The primary aim of this study was to investigate if cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition are risk factors for sepsis and other complications of advanced liver disease. Read more
See commentary by Ryan Chadha

 

Transplantation (FREE TO ILTS MEMBERS)

Preoperative Autologous Blood Collection in Adult Living Liver Donors: Are We Wasting Donor Blood and Increasing Exposure to Risk?

Despite waning indications in the general population for preoperative autologous blood donation (PABD), it is a procedure that continues to be offered to healthy living liver donor (LLD). In this study, we sought to understand the impact of PABD on the LLD population. Read more
American Journal of Transplantation
The impact of post‐reperfusion syndrome during livertransplantation using livers with significant macrosteatosis
The impact of post‐reperfusion syndrome(PRS) during liver transplantation(LT) using donor livers with significant macrosteatosis is largely unknown. Clinical outcomes of all patients undergoing LT with donor livers with Moderate Macrosteatosis (30‐60%)(N = 96) between 2000‐2017 were compared to propensity score matched cohorts. Read more

 

 
Hepatology

Prevalence and Impact of De Novo Donor-Specific Antibodies During a Multicenter Immunosuppression Withdrawal Trial in Adult Liver Transplant Recipients

The development of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) donor-specific antibody/antibodies (DSA) is not well described in liver transplant (LT) patients undergoing immunosuppression (IS) withdrawal protocols despite the allograft risk associated with de novo DSA (dnDSA). We analyzed the development of dnDSA in 69 LT patients who received calcineurin inhibitor monotherapy and were enrolled in the ITN030ST study. Read more
See commentary by Eleonora De Martin
 MOST VIEWED ARTICLES 
Last Month
1. Update on the management of acute liver failure (link)


2. Prediction of all-cause mortality after liver transplantation using left ventricular systolic and diastolic function assesment (link)

3. Pilot, Open, Randomized, Prospective Trial for Normothermic Machine Perfusion Evaluation in Liver Transplantation for Older Donors.
(link)
2018
1. Recipient age and mortality after liver transplantation: A population-based cohort study (link)

2. ILTS consensus statement on end-stage liver disease due to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and liver transplantation (link)

3. Immune-mediated graft dysfunction in liver transplant recipients with hepatitis C virus treated with direct-acting antiviral therapy (link)
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SOCIETY NEWS

ILTS SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS

SIGs are being introduced to promote education, innovation and research in a wide range of topics. Seven topics have been approved: Oncology, Immunology, Infectious Diseases, DCD/Machine Perfusion, Cardiovascular, Living Donation, and Translational Science. Steering committees have been set up, combining the talents of highly motivated younger members and world-leading mentors.

Click here for SIG details

ILTS Social Media

The ILTS Vanguard Committee is working hard to build vibrant social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. These efforts aim to highlight the growing range of ILTS educational activities and the latest news in liver transplantation worldwide.

Social media content will include Vanguard teleconferences, key new publications, meeting reports, Special Interest Group initiatives, and much more. Our new scientific and social media editors welcome input from any active ILTS members.

Contact socialmedia@ilts.org with your latest news and ideas!
 

ILTS Vanguard Teleconference:
Case Presentations (40 minutes):

  1. ACLF in the setting of HCC rupture: Is liver transplantation an option?
  2. Normothermic machine perfusion in liver transplantation

Presenting centers:

Hopital Paul Brousse, Villejuif, France
(Speaker: Dr. E. Poli, Moderator: Dr. Eleonora De Martin)

UT Southwestern MC, Dallas, USA
(Speaker: Dr. Malcolm MacConmara)
More information
ILTS Member Benefits:

- Up to 45% off ILTS 2019 Toronto Congress registration!
- Unrestricted access to the ILTS Education Platform
- Subscription to the official ILTS journal Transplantation
- Eligibility for ILTS travel awards and scholarships

Click here to discover more about the ILTS Membership benefits and here for information on the ILTS 2019 Toronto Congress.
Renew Membership or Join ILTS
OTHER UPCOMING MEETINGS 
Liver Transplantation for Acute Alcoholic Hepatitis: Consensus Conference
This two-day conference will adress various aspects of liver transplantation from selection, contraindications, listing criteria and ethical considerations to follow up after liver transplantation will be discussed.
 
Date: April 5-6, 2019
Location: Dallas, Texas, USA
Read more
HBP Surgery Week 2019 & the 50th Annual Congress of the Korean Association of HBP Surgery
The HBP Surgery Week Congress is now one of the world’s most prestigious and influential HBP surgery platforms.
 
Date: April 5-6, 2019
Location: Seoul, Korea
Read more
2nd International Conference on Fatty Liver (ICFL 2019)
ICFL 2019 will focus on the clinical needs and best practices for diagnosing and treating fatty liver diseases. The conference aims to raise awareness across all specialties and help providers guide and treat patients with fatty liver.

Date: June 27-29, 2019
Location: Berlin, Germany
Read more
The 7th Biennial Congress of the Asian-Pacific Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (A-PHPBA 2019)
A-PHPBA 2019 promises to be a great occasion to present and discuss advanced techniques in the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of HPB related diseases. It is also a unique opportunity to network and share valuable academic researches and cases.
Date: September 4-7, 2019
Location: Seoul, Korea
Read more
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Newsletter edited with the kind help of Andrea Olmos and John Klinck

International Liver Transplantation Society
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Association & Conference Management
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+49 30 24603-349 | Contact Us 

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