Successful liver transplantation and delivery in a woman with fulminant hepatic failure occurring during the second trimester of pregnancy

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Abstract
Abstract: Background: Severe liver dysfunction occurring during pregnancy is an unusual but dramatic event that poses special technical and ethical issues because it involves two lives.Methods and Results: We report the case of a 35‐year‐old woman with cryptogenic fulminant hepatic failure who underwent successful orthotopic liver transplantation at 22 weeks of pregnancy. After a relatively uneventful post‐operative course she delivered a normal offspring at the 27th week of gestation. There were no obstetrical complications and neonatal outcome was excellent. After a year of follow‐up, the patient is doing well,and the newborn has exhibited normal psychomotor and weight/height development.Conclusion: This case illustrates the challenge of treating fulminant hepatic failure during pregnancy and demonstrates that liver transplantation is a feasible therapeutic option for treatment of patients with this condition, allowing successful completion of pregnancy.