Surgical management of biliary complications following living donor liver transplantation

Khalaf H, Alawi K, Alsuhaibani H, Hegab B, Kamel Y, Azzam A, Albahili H, Alsofayan M, Al Sebayel M. Surgical management of biliary complications following living donor liver transplantation.
Clin Transplant 2011: 25: 504–510. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Abstract: Background: Biliary complications (BC) account for much of the morbidities seen after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). Surgical reconstruction might be necessary after the failure of endoscopic or percutaneous procedures. Methods: Between November 2002 and December 2009, a total of 76 LDLTs were performed. Six patients were excluded from statistical analysis because of early graft or patient loss. Results: Of 70, 26 (37.1%) developed BC; 12 (46.2%) were successfully managed by non‐surgical procedures, three (11.5%) died from BC‐related sepsis, one (3.8%) died from BC‐unrelated causes, and 10 (38.5%) underwent surgical reconstruction. Of those 10, four patients had single duct reconstruction, five patients had double ducts reconstruction, and reconstruction was abandoned in one patient because of hepatic artery thrombosis. After a median follow‐up period of 4.5 yr (0.1–6), seven (70%) remained well with no recurrent biliary problems, and three (30%) had recurrent BCs that were managed either conservatively or by retransplantation. Patients who underwent surgical reconstruction had significantly fewer hospital admissions, less need for invasive procedures, and shorter cumulative hospital stay (p < 0.05). Conclusions: In our experience, BCs after LDLT were frequently resistant to non‐surgical procedures. Surgical reconstruction is associated with fewer hospital admissions and less need for invasive procedures leading to reduced resources utilization.