Recent Advances in Pediatric Liver Transplantation

Dear Colleagues,

It is a great honor to serve as the Guest Editor for the Special Issue of Children entitled “Recent Advances in Pediatric Liver Transplantation”.

Since the first successful pediatric liver transplantation performed by Dr. Starzl in 1967, there has been an improvement in understanding the outcomes of patient and graft survival. These improvements are not only due to technical refinements, such as splitting liver grafts from deceased and living donors, but also perioperative patient care with the aid of a multidisciplinary team, including immunosuppression and long-term follow-up. The main indications for liver transplantation for children are cholestatic liver, metabolic disorders, acute liver failure, and primary malignant liver tumors.

The aim and scope of this issue are to focus on the cutting-edge technologies and clinical research that could improve the outcomes of liver transplantation in children and include the following:

1. Living Donor Transplants: Advances in surgical techniques and donor evaluation have made LDLT a viable option, especially in cases where deceased donor organs are scarce.
2. Immunosuppression Strategies: Researchers continue to explore and refine immunosuppressive regimens to minimize rejection while reducing the risk of side effects and complications. Personalized medicine approaches are being investigated to tailor immunosuppression to individual patient needs.
3. Split Liver Transplants: Split liver transplantation involves dividing a deceased donor's liver into two parts, which can then be transplanted into two recipients (usually an adult and a child).
4. Innovations in Organ Preservation: Developments in organ preservation techniques, such as machine perfusion, aim to extend the viability of donor organs, particularly in situations where the time between procurement and transplantation is prolonged.
5. Genetic and Biomarker Research: Researchers are exploring genetic and biomarker profiles to better understand factors that influence transplant outcomes. This information may help in predicting and preventing complications and optimizing patient care.
6. Regenerative Medicine: Regenerative medicine approaches, including the use of stem cells and tissue engineering, are being investigated to promote liver regeneration and reduce the need for transplantation. This is still in the early stages of research.
7. Telemedicine and Remote Monitoring: Telemedicine and remote monitoring technologies are becoming more prevalent, allowing healthcare providers to monitor patients' post-transplant progress more closely and intervene promptly if issues arise.

Prof. Dr. Florent Guerin
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• pediatrics
• liver
• transplantation
• surgery
• outcome
• immunosuppression
• research
• biomarkers
• organ preservation and perfusion