Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease in tonsils of children with liver transplantation

Objective: To assess the incidence and characteristics of post-transplant l ymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) in tonsils of the liver transplanted chil dren. Methods: All patients under 14 years of age recipients of a liver tra nsplant at the institution and operated on for tonsillectomy under suspicio n of malignancy were included in this study. Results: Seven patients underw ent surgery on their tonsils under suspicion of PTLD. One case of B-cell ly mphoma. and three cases of polymorphic diffuse B-cell hyperplasia were foun d. This represents an incidence of 1.4% of PTLD in the tonsils of the 283 p ediatric liver transplants performed at the hospital. Conclusion: The incid ence of PTLD in tonsils after liver transplantation is very low at the inst itution. However. it is very important to follow-up allograft recipients fo r early diagnosis of this entity. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. Al l rights reserved.