Liver transplantation in children: state of the art and future perspectives

In this review, we provide a state of the art of liver transplantation in children, as the procedure is now carried out for more than 30 years and most of our paediatric colleagues are managing these patients jointly with liver transplant centres. Our goal for this article is to enhance the understanding of the liver transplant process that a child and his family goes through while explaining the surgical advances and the associated complications that could happen in the immediate or long-term follow-up. We have deliberately introduced the theme that ‘liver transplant is a disease’ and ‘not a cure’, to emphasise the need for adherence with immunosuppression, a healthy lifestyle and lifelong medical follow-up.