History of pediatric liver transplantation in Europe

The european history of pediatric liver transplantation (LT) began ... in 1965, when Jean-Bernard Otte went to Denver (Colorado) to meet the pioneer Thomas Starzl (1) who performed many years ago the first tenta- tives of LT in animal. A long period followed these ini- tial assays, concerning essentially the operative process, the numerous changes it was necessary to modify, even in animal and, later on, in human patients at the ultimate stages of chronic liver disease. The exceptionnal work of Starzl was his certitude to be able to define, finally, the ways necessary to obtain progressively a better selection and preoperative care, before this type of heavy surgery,