Mario Ferrario
Universidad de Chile, Cirugia, Faculty Member
Small bowel transplantation is associated with a patient survival at one and five years, of 80% and 63%, respectively. We repon a 36 year-old female with short bowel syndrome, subjected to the first small bowel transplantation performed... more
Small bowel transplantation is associated with a patient survival at one and five years, of 80% and 63%, respectively. We repon a 36 year-old female with short bowel syndrome, subjected to the first small bowel transplantation performed in Chile. A cadaveric gran was ...
Background: Cardiovascular risk, growth failure and the new immunosuppressive drugs, have encouraged steroid withdrawal or total avoidance with promising results in renal transplant (Tx) immunosuppression. Aim: To evaluate a new... more
Background: Cardiovascular risk, growth failure and the new immunosuppressive drugs, have encouraged steroid withdrawal or total avoidance with promising results in renal transplant (Tx) immunosuppression. Aim: To evaluate a new immunosuppressor protocol ...
Simultaneous kidney and pancreas transplantation (SKPT) is the best alternative for end stage renal disease among patients with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. To report our experience with SKPT. Retrospective analysis of 12... more
Simultaneous kidney and pancreas transplantation (SKPT) is the best alternative for end stage renal disease among patients with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. To report our experience with SKPT. Retrospective analysis of 12 recipients of SKPT transplanted in one center starting in 1994, with a mean follow-up period of 6.8 years (2-15). Eleven of 12 recipients were in chronic hemodialysis before SKPT. Mean A, B, DR and HLA mismatch was 4.3. Mean preformed anti HLA antibodies was 3.3 %. Mean cold ischemia times for pancreas and kidney were 6 and 10 hours, respectively. In the first eight cases, the pancreas was drained to the bladder, and in the last four, an enteric drainage was performed. Eleven recipients were induced with antibodies, and maintenance immunosuppression consisted of cyclosporin or tacrolimus plus an antiproliferative agent. Ten year patient survival was 70%. Pancreas and kidney survival, defined by insulin and dialysis independence, were 72 and 73% respectively...
Cardiovascular risk, growth failure and the new immunosuppressive drugs, have encouraged steroid withdrawal or total avoidance with promising results in renal transplant (Tx) immunosuppression. To evaluate a new immunosuppressor protocol... more
Cardiovascular risk, growth failure and the new immunosuppressive drugs, have encouraged steroid withdrawal or total avoidance with promising results in renal transplant (Tx) immunosuppression. To evaluate a new immunosuppressor protocol with early withdrawal of steroids in pediatric kidney transplant. Prospective study in pediatric patients older than 1 year and low immunological risk. Group A (n =28): steroids in decreasing doses until day 7 post Tx, tacrolimus (FK) and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). Group B (n =28) control: steroids, cyclosporine and azathioprine or steroids, FK and MMF. In both groups the induction therapy included basiliximab. Anthropometric and biochemical variables (renal function, lipid profile, hematological, blood glucose and acid-base equilibrium), acute rejection and CMV infection, were evaluated. Mean values and variations for continuous variables were calculated at months 1, 6, 12 and 18. Two children were withdrawn before month 2, one had an untreatable...
Research Interests:
Liver transplantation is the only treatment for patients with terminal acute and chronic diseases. Liver transplantation was started in Chile in 1985; our pediatric program began in 1993. The aim of this paper work was to present our... more
Liver transplantation is the only treatment for patients with terminal acute and chronic diseases. Liver transplantation was started in Chile in 1985; our pediatric program began in 1993. The aim of this paper work was to present our experience from 1993 through 2004. One hundred and thirty two orthotopic liver transplants (OLT) were performed in children of mean age 5 years and median age 4 years (8 months to 15 years). The most frequent indications were biliary atresia, (43.1%) and acute liver failure (ALF; 20.4%), whose frequent cause was unknown but viral hepatitis A was the second one. A complete liver was transplanted in 59 patients, reduced in 39, split in one, and as an auxiliary liver in another one. Living related liver transplantation was performed in 32 cases (24.2%), of which thirty included segments II and III, and two, a right liver. A terminal arterial anastomosis was performed in 102 (77.2%) recipients and a graft interposition in 32 patients (24.2%). In 16 cases, biliary reconstruction was performed through an enterobiliary anastomosis. Immunosuppression included cyclosporine (Neoral), steroids, and azathioprine with conversion to tacrolimus (Prograf) as indicated. Rejection episodes, which were always biopsy-proven, were treated either with methylprednisolone or with antibodies. Biliary complications were the most frequent (21.4%) and the second cause was vascular complications (13%). Sixty-six patients suffered an acute rejection episode. Actuarial graft survival was 81.3% at 1 year and 72% at 5 years, while actuarial graft survival for ALF was 75.9% at 1 year and 67.8% at 5 years. Our results are comparable to those reported by most international groups.
Research Interests: Survival Analysis, Chile, Adolescent, Humans, Child, and 14 moreChronic Disease, Female, Viral hepatitis, Male, Infant, Follow-up studies, Liver Transplantation, Retrospective Studies, Bacterial infections, Cytomegalovirus Infections, Liver Failure, Biliary Atresia, Acute rejection, and Orthotopic Liver Transplantation
ABSTRACT El trasplante combinado páncreas-riñón (TPR) para pacientes portadores de Diabetes Mellitus 1 con insuficiencia renal crónica terminal, ha demostrado ser la única terapia que permite alcanzar el estado de normoglicemia de manera... more
ABSTRACT El trasplante combinado páncreas-riñón (TPR) para pacientes portadores de Diabetes Mellitus 1 con insuficiencia renal crónica terminal, ha demostrado ser la única terapia que permite alcanzar el estado de normoglicemia de manera estable, situación que lleva a una disminución de las complicaciones crónicas de la DM y mejora la expectativa y calidad de vida. En nuestro país la tasa de realización de este trasplante es aún muy baja, lo que se debe a factores asociados a la donación y a una insuficiente divulgación de los resultados nacionales.
Background: Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a chronic cholestatic disease, which can progress to hepatic failure. Aim: To study the clinical presentation, pathological features, treatment and outcome of a group of patients with PBC.... more
Background: Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a chronic cholestatic disease, which can progress to hepatic failure. Aim: To study the clinical presentation, pathological features, treatment and outcome of a group of patients with PBC. Material and methods: ...
We report a 33 year-old female with a diagnosis of halothane-induce fulminant hepatic failure who was subjected to a liver transplant with an ABO-incompatible graft. The patient received a therapeutic protocol that included total plasma... more
We report a 33 year-old female with a diagnosis of halothane-induce fulminant hepatic failure who was subjected to a liver transplant with an ABO-incompatible graft. The patient received a therapeutic protocol that included total plasma exchange, splenectomy and quadruple ...
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and disease in transplant (Tx) recipients may severely complícate the patients outcome. Aim: To determine the incidence, clinical characteristics and risk factors for CMV infection and disease in liver and... more
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and disease in transplant (Tx) recipients may severely complícate the patients outcome. Aim: To determine the incidence, clinical characteristics and risk factors for CMV infection and disease in liver and kidney transplant recipients in a ...
Background: Cardiovascular risk, growth failure and the new immunosuppressive drugs, have encouraged steroid withdrawal or total avoidance with promising results in renal transplant (Tx) immunosuppression. Aim: To evaluate a new... more
Background: Cardiovascular risk, growth failure and the new immunosuppressive drugs, have encouraged steroid withdrawal or total avoidance with promising results in renal transplant (Tx) immunosuppression. Aim: To evaluate a new immunosuppressor protocol ...
Research Interests: Kidney diseases, Kidney transplantation, Treatment Outcome, Transplantation, Tacrolimus, and 17 moreRenal transplantation, Humans, Female, Organ Transplantation, Male, Monoclonal Antibodies, Liver Transplantation, Glycoproteins, Renal Function, Middle Aged, Kidney Transplant, Adult, Adverse Event, Graft Rejection, Pancreas Transplantation, Autoantibodies, and Acute rejection
Acute liver failure (ALF) is a severe, life-threatening condition associated with a high mortality rate. The objective of this study is to present the experience of a Chilean liver transplant program with orthotopic liver transplantation... more
Acute liver failure (ALF) is a severe, life-threatening condition associated with a high mortality rate. The objective of this study is to present the experience of a Chilean liver transplant program with orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) for ALF. All patients with the diagnosis of ALF evaluated in our program between January 1995 and May 2003 were included in the analyses of etiology and outcomes. Candidates for OLT activated on a national waiting list were transplanted with cadaveric or living-related donor (LRD) organs. Twenty-seven patients age 1 to 19 years (median, 7.4 years) were transplanted at a median weight of 30.7 kg including 17 cadaveric and 10 with LRD livers. Most frequent etiologies were hepatitis A in 10 cases (37%) and unknown in 12 (48.1%). One donor experienced superficial phlebitis. Four patients were retransplanted (14.8%). Twenty patients are alive with 1- and 5-year survival rates of 74.1% At a median follow up of 34 months (range = 2 to 120). Seven patients died due to sepsis, multiorganic failure, graft primary nonfunction, intracranial hemorrhage, and intraoperative cardiac arrest. This experience revealed results comparable to international reports, allowing survival of patients destined to die.
Research Interests: Survival Analysis, Treatment Outcome, Chile, Adolescent, Transplantation, and 15 moreCardiac arrest, Humans, Child, Female, Male, Infant, Follow-up studies, Liver Transplantation, Adult, Survival Rate, Retrospective Studies, hepatitis A, Intracranial Hemorrhage, Mortality rate, and Orthotopic Liver Transplantation
Research Interests:
Different ways have been suggested to expand donor numbers for liver transplantation. Transplantation using ABO-incompatible hepatic grafts has recently been a controversial issue due to the high risk of hyperacute rejection mediated by... more
Different ways have been suggested to expand donor numbers for liver transplantation. Transplantation using ABO-incompatible hepatic grafts has recently been a controversial issue due to the high risk of hyperacute rejection mediated by preformed anti-ABO antibodies. We report three patients with acute liver failure who were transplanted with ABO-incompatible livers: A to O in two patients and A to B in one case. We used pre- and posttransplant total plasma exchange, splenectomy, and triple immunosuppression. All three patients are alive; one graft was lost, probably secondary to thrombotic microangiopathy with low isohemagglutinin titers of 1:8. One patient developed acute cellular rejection that was reversed with a bolus of methylprednisolone. No antibody-mediated rejection occurred. Financial and infectious considerations have to be considered. In our series, the final liver transplantation cost was higher than average for acute liver failure. Plasmapheresis has the highest cost of all the additional procedures. ABO-incompatible liver transplantation, because of the splenectomy it requires, has been associated with more infections due to encapsulated organisms. However, with splenectomy in our three patients, none had infections due to these bacteria. In our country, we do not consider ABO-incompatible liver transplantation as a first-line option, except for highly selected patients.
Research Interests:
Acute liver failure (ALF) in children is a life-threatening condition, associated with high mortality, and in almost one third of the cases, with no other therapeutic option than orthotopic liver transplant (OLT). The aim of this study... more
Acute liver failure (ALF) in children is a life-threatening condition, associated with high mortality, and in almost one third of the cases, with no other therapeutic option than orthotopic liver transplant (OLT). The aim of this study was to present our experience with OLT for ALF in pediatric patients in Chile. Patients fulfilling the criteria for ALF who were transplanted in our centers were prospectively included in an excel Microsoft database. We analyzed demographics, etiology, surgical techniques, complications, and long-term results. Between 1994 and 2009, we transplanted 52 pediatric patients with ALF. The most frequent known etiology was acute hepatitis A in 9 cases (18%), but in 26 cases (50%) it was impossible to determine the etiology. Thirty- one patients were males (63%). The overall mean age was 7.5 years and the mean weight, 28.1 kg. Thirty-five (67%) received a cadaveric graft. Among them in 18 cases (34%) the liver had to be reduced but 17 (33%) received whole livers. There were 17 (33%) recipients of living-related livers. Twenty-two patients needed reoperation, including 13 due to surgical complications (59%) and 9 (41%) as planned interventions. Ten patients were retransplanted. Actuarial survival of patients at 1 year was 80% and at 5 and 10 years, 72%. Graft survival at 1 year was 79%, at 5 years 69%, and at 10 years 50%. We have reported a series of pediatric liver transplant patients due to ALF whose results were comparable to other reported series. Living donor transplantation for ALF should be considered and offers a low morbidity rate without mortality.
Research Interests:
Liver transplantation is the only treatment for end-stage liver disease. Not all patients have a favorable outcome. Graft failure secondary to primary nonfunction, vascular complications, or chronic rejection among other problems may lead... more
Liver transplantation is the only treatment for end-stage liver disease. Not all patients have a favorable outcome. Graft failure secondary to primary nonfunction, vascular complications, or chronic rejection among other problems may lead to retransplantation. Retransplantation represents 8% to 29% of liver transplantations in the pediatric population. The aim of this study was to present our experience with retransplanted children by analyzing the indications and the results. All patients were prospectively included in our database, including 125 children. We included the indications for retransplantation, complications, and mortality. Kaplan-Meier curves were used for survival analysis. Since 1994, 125 patients were transplanted and 25 were retransplanted (20%), including 5 who received a third graft. Primary nonfunction represented 30% of the indications for retransplantation and hepatic artery thrombosis, 20%. Six of 25 patients who received a first retransplantation and 2 of 5 who received a second retransplantation died. The most frequent cause of death was multiorgans failure. The survivals at 1 and 5 years were 82% and 76% for children receiving a first retransplantation, and 60% at 1 and 5 years for those who received a second retransplantation. Organ failure after liver transplantation was a common event in pediatric transplantation. Survival was similar between patients transplanted once and those who received one retransplantation. Survival decreased among patients who received a third graft but was maintained at 60%, which is better than most published results for first retransplanted patients. Retransplantation is a valid option with good results for selected pediatric cases.
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New immunosuppressive agents are being actively researched to avoid complications of chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN), calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) nephrotoxicity, and posttransplantation cancer. The family of mTOR inhibitors offers a... more
New immunosuppressive agents are being actively researched to avoid complications of chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN), calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) nephrotoxicity, and posttransplantation cancer. The family of mTOR inhibitors offers a unique immunosuppressive opportunity to avoid CNI toxicity and reduce the incidence of malignancy. Nevertheless, increasing data have demonstrated that sirolimus (SRL), the first mTOR introduced in the treatment of solid organ transplant recipients, induces proteinuria, an adverse event that could produce deterioration of long-term renal function. In this short-term study of patients followed for 1 to 16 months, we examined changes in renal function and proteinuria among renal transplant recipients converted from a CNI-based regimen to an everolimus (EVL)-based one, a recently introduced mTOR inhibitor. Our data showed that renal function can be optimized after conversion to EVL by up to 42% in recipients showing CAN grade 1 or 2, or CNI nephrotoxicity. Importantly, patients who improved their creatinine clearance did not show increased proteinuria measured in a voided specimen as the ratio of urinary protein and creatinine concentration (P/C). These results, if confirmed with long-term follow-up and a larger number of patients, would allow us to consider EVL as a promising agent for maintenance immunosuppressive regimens in kidney transplantation.
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Results obtained using a computerized image analysis system as an aid to clinical diagnosis of melanoma are reported. The system comprises a colour television camera connected through a digitizing board to a 386 personal computer. By... more
Results obtained using a computerized image analysis system as an aid to clinical diagnosis of melanoma are reported. The system comprises a colour television camera connected through a digitizing board to a 386 personal computer. By means of original algorithms able to measure the shape, the colours and texture of a pigmented lesion of the skin, the system provides eight on/off indicators that are matched with the histological diagnosis to identify benign and malignant pigmented lesions. The chances that a given lesion is malignant increase with the increasing number of positive indicators. The training field of the system was constituted of images and data of 169 cutaneous lesions in 165 patients. Taking two positive indicators as the threshold between pigmented benign and malignant lesions, the efficiency of the system is 0.98, the positive predictive value is 0.45 and the negative predictive value is 0.95. These values were confirmed in a series of 44 pigmented lesions, 10 of which were melanoma, that constitute the present test series. The authors conclude that this computerized image analysis system should be regarded as a useful aid to diagnosis for a non-expert clinician. The system limit is transformation within a naevus.
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Liver transplantation for pediatric patients in liver failure and multiple organ system failure (MOSF) often results in poor patient survival. Progression of organ failure occurs while awaiting a cadaveric allograft. Therefore, we... more
Liver transplantation for pediatric patients in liver failure and multiple organ system failure (MOSF) often results in poor patient survival. Progression of organ failure occurs while awaiting a cadaveric allograft. Therefore, we considered living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in this critically ill group of children and report our initial results with comparison to a similar group who received cadaveric donation (CAD). A retrospective chart review was performed on all pediatric liver transplant recipients who met criteria for MOSF at the time of transplantation. Data collection involved pretransplantation patient profiles, as well as postoperative complications and patient survival. Eight patients in MOSF received living donor transplants and 11 patients received a cadaveric allograft. Mean wait time was 3.5 days in the LDLT group and 6.5 days in the CAD group. Pretransplantation patient profiles and postoperative complications were similar between groups. Mean cold ischemia times were 3.8 hours in the LDLT group and 7.9 hours in the CAD group (P = .0002). Thirty-day and 6-month survival rates of the LDLT group were 88% and 63% compared with 45% and 27% in the CAD group, respectively. Living donor transplant recipients in MOSF had decreased wait times to transplantation, as well as decreased cold ischemia times, compared with cadaveric transplant recipients. Patients in the LDLT group had markedly improved survival compared with the CAD group. Timely transplantation before worsening organ failure may account for these findings.
Research Interests: Nonparametric Statistics, Treatment Outcome, Risk assessment, Probability, Humans, and 20 moreChild, Liver, Female, Male, Infant, Data Collection, Liver Transplantation, Risk factors, Clinical Sciences, Cadaver, Survival Rate, Retrospective Studies, Prognosis, Postoperative Complication, Risk Factors, Risk Assessment, Liver Failure, Graft Rejection, Waiting Time, and Multiple Organ Failure
Resumen La infección y enfermedad por citomegalovirus (CMV) en pacientes sometidos a trasplantes (Tx) es una complicación que condiciona la evolución del injerto y la sobrevida del paciente. Objetivos: Determinar la incidencia de... more
Resumen La infección y enfermedad por citomegalovirus (CMV) en pacientes sometidos a trasplantes (Tx) es una complicación que condiciona la evolución del injerto y la sobrevida del paciente. Objetivos: Determinar la incidencia de infección y enfermedad por CMV ...