Non-composite combined liver and intestinal allotransplantation

Introduction Small bowel transplantation has been the optimal choice for patients with irreversible intestinal failure. Advances in total parenteral nutrition (TPN) have allowed patients with short bowel syndrome to survive, but the long-term effects are often complicated by intestinal failure. As a result, many candidates for intestinal transplantation have concomitant cholestatic liver damage. Thus, simultaneous liver and intestinal transplantation is required.[1-5] Herein we present a cas…     

Case report: Donor acquired visceral leishmaniasis following liver transplantation

Patients who undergo solid organ transplantation are at risk of opportunistic infection associated with immunosuppression. We report a case of confirmed donor derived visceral leishmaniasis (VL), in a patient following liver transplantation causing fever and pancytopenia. The diagnosis was confirmed by bone marrow biopsy, with confirmed positive donor serology, with no other route of transmission. To our knowledge, this is the first case report in the United Kingdom and Europe, of confirmed organ donor transmission of VL. This case report highlights an important consideration of donor derived infections, in the context of solid organ transplantation.     

Review: Recent advances in liver transplantation

Liver transplant is a life-saving treatment with 1-year and 5-year survival rates of 90% and 70%, respectively. However, organ demand continues to exceed supply, such that many patients will die waiting for an available organ. This article reviews for the general gastroenterologist the latest developments in the field to reduce waiting list mortality and maximise utilisation of available organs. The main areas covered include legislative changes in organ donation and the new ‘opt-out’ systems being rolled out in the UK, normothermic machine perfusion to optimise marginal grafts, a new national allocation system to maximise benefit from each organ and developments in patient ‘prehabilitation’ before listing. Current areas of research interest, such as immunosuppression withdrawal, are also summarised.     

Liver transplantation for patients with alcoholic hepatitis

Alcoholic liver disease, considered as a self‐inflected disease, is an example of how moral judgment may affect ethical exercise of medicine which requires equity and fair utilization of a scarce resource in a context of organ shortage. Some consider that selection process should prioritize access to liver transplantation (LT) for patients who develop liver failure “through no fault of their own” even if limiting care because of a patient's perceived responsibility has been considered unethical. The absence of improvement after alcohol withdrawal, the high short‐term mortality risk and the poor predictability of the 6‐month rule in post‐LT relapse in alcohol consumption in AH patients not responding to medical therapy led to recommend an evaluation of LT. In the French‐Belgian pilot study, 26 patients with severe AH not responding to medical therapy underwent early LT (eLT). Stringent selection criteria were applied. Six‐month and 2‐year survivals of eLT patients were better than that of non‐transplanted matched controls: 77% vs 23% and 71% vs 23% respectively. Alcohol relapse occurred in 12% of patients after eLT. Three studies confirmed these results. The impact organ donation should be limited as showed by a recent survey and the efforts that should be made in public information campaigns based on scientific data and medical ethics. In conclusion, the ongoing accumulation of scientific evidence and requirement of ethical exercise of medicine lead to continue evaluating eLT as a therapeutic option in patients with severe AH not responding to medical therapy.     

应对肝源短缺问题的策略探讨

世界卫生组织发布的数据显示,中国有1.4亿乙型和丙型肝炎病毒携带者,约占全球乙、丙两型肝炎病毒携带者的28％;其中有3200万慢性活动性肝病患者;年发病人数3000万,每年有40万人死于病毒性肝病[1].由于社会生活方式和饮食习惯的改变,过去西方国家较多发的脂肪肝、药物性和酒精性肝炎、肝硬化等肝病也在我国逐渐增多[2].另外我国现有29.7万肝癌患者,占全球肝癌患者总和的一半以上[3].所以,肝病是影响我国生产力和社会安定的重大疾病.目前对急重型肝炎和肝癌等晚期肝病治疗的临床疗效不佳.原位肝移植是目前国际公认的有效方法[4-5].然而,由于肝脏供体的稀缺及高昂的治疗费用,使众多的重型肝病和肝衰竭患者得不到及时救治而死亡.寻求一种新的治疗措施和解决肝源的严重稀缺成为当务之急,也引起世界卫生组织和我国政府的高度重视[6].本文分析和回顾了目前世界范围内科学技术研究应对肝源短缺的前沿领域和方法,并提出了开源节流的相关策略,期望对我国肝源短缺、病患难以得到治疗的情况有所缓解,以探讨临床治疗的新希望.     

肝癌肝移植的临床及基础研究

肝移植是对于肝癌最为有效的治疗方式。因为其可以根除肿瘤主体及镜下微小肿瘤病灶并提供给患者一个具备良好功能的肝脏。如今肝移植治疗小肝癌的5年成活率已经高达80%。但是由于肝移植手术仅能提供给一些本就预期预后良好的肝癌初期患者,所以只有小部分符合条件的肝癌患者能够受惠     

Liver transplantation: the Italian experience

BACKGROUND: Liver transplantation is the standard treatment for patients with end-stage liver disease no longer responsive to conventional medical treatment AIMS: To report the long-term experience of liver transplantation in Italy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data were obtained retrospectively by means of a multiple-item form collected from 15 Italian liver transplant centres. The filing centre was centralized. RESULTS: A total of 3323 liver transplants were performed on 3026 patients, with a cumulative proportional survival of 72.4%. Three, 5 and 10 years' patient survival rates were 72.3%, 68.8% and 61.3%, respectively. The most common indication for liver transplantation were hepatitis B virus (+/- hepatitis D virus)- and hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis (59.4%). Excellent survival rates were observed particularly in controversial indications, such as alcoholic cirrhosis, hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Retransplantation was required in 8.9% of the cases. The overall prevalence of acute cellular rejection episodes was 43.5%. In our study population, primary non-function and disease recurrence were the most common causes of graft failure (28.7% and 25.4%, respectively). Infections and/or sepsis were the most common causes of death after transplantation (42%). CONCLUSION: This study confirms that patients with controversial indications to liver transplantation such as alcoholic cirrhosis, HBV-related cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma can achieve excellent survival when properly selected.     

Outcomes in partial liver transplantation: deceased donor split-liver vs. live donor liver transplantation

BackgroundOrgan shortage has resulted in greater emphasis on partial liver transplantation (PLT) as an alternative to whole-organ liver transplantation.MethodsThis study was conducted to assess outcomes in PLT and to compare outcomes of deceased donor split-liver transplantation (DD-SLT) and live donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in adults transplanted in the USA using data reported to the United Network for Organ Sharing in the era of Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores.ResultsBetween 2002 and 2009, 2272 PLTs were performed in the USA; these represented 5.3% of all liver transplants carried out in the country and included 557 (24.5%) DD-SLT and 1715 LDLT (75.5%) procedures. The most significant differences between the DD-SLT and LDLT groups related to mean MELD scores, which were lower in LDLT recipients (14.5 vs. 20.9; P < 0.001), mean recipient age, which was lower in the LDLT group (50.7 years vs. 52.8 years; P < 0.001), and mean donor age, which was lower in the DD-SLT group (23.0 years vs. 37.3 years; P < 0.001). Allograft survival was comparable between the two groups (P= 0.438), but patient survival after LDLT was better (P= 0.04). In Cox regression analysis, LDLT was associated with better allograft (hazards ratio [HR]= 0.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.630–0.791; P < 0.0001) and patient (HR = 0.6, 95% CI 0.558–0.644; P < 0.0001) survival than DD-SLT.ConclusionsPartial liver transplantation represents a potentially underutilized resource in the USA. Despite the differences in donor and recipient characteristics, LDLT is associated with better allograft and patient survival than DD-SLT. A different allocation system for DD-SLT allografts that takes into consideration cold ischaemia time and recipient MELD score should be considered.     

肝移植患者术中凝血功能的变化及影响因素

目的:探讨不同肝移植术式术中凝血功能变化的规律及相关的影响因素.方法:将2006-06/2007-05我院15例亲体肝移植患者及29例原位肝移植患者,分为肝癌组,肝硬化和急性肝衰组.综合评估患者术前状态,于患者术前及术中(无肝前期、无肝期、再灌注期30 min、再灌注期1 h)检测凝血酶原时间(PT)、活化的部分凝血酶原时间(APTT)、国际标准化比值(INR)、纤维蛋白原(FIB)、血小板计数(PLT)、血红蛋白量(HB)、白蛋白(ALB)及CO_2结合力(TCO_2),观察不同肝移植术式术中各组患者凝血功能及酸碱失衡的变化规律及特点,分析术前和术中可能存在的影响因素及与凝血功能的相关性.结果:肝硬化患者组术前凝血状态介于肝癌组与急性肝衰组之间.术前PLT明显减少,与其他两组相比差异显著(P<0.05).无肝期各项指标进一步恶化.再灌注30 min PT,APTT,INR值达到峰值,FIB水平于无肝期达到最低点(亲体移植:0.68±0.17 g/L vs 0.93±0.37 g/L,0.77±0.19 g/L,0.83±0.27 g/L,0.72±0.31 g/L;原位肝移植:0.65±0.14 g/L vs 0.89±0.10 g/L,0.71±0.26 g/L,0.69±0.16 g/L,0.70±0.23 g/L,P<0.05).肝癌组各指标术前基本正常,术中变化幅度均较前两组小(P<0.05).急性肝衰组患者术前PT、APTT、INR延长最为显著,凝血状态最差(P<0.05),但术中恢复较快.除无肝期外,FIB较其他两组明显减少(P<0.05).应用Pearson相关分析术中出血量与围手术期因素的相关关系,发现MELD评分与术中出血量具有相关性(r=0.619,P<0.05).与原位肝移植相比,亲体肝移植术中凝血功能及代谢紊乱的变化较大,尤以无肝前期及无肝期恶化明显.再灌注后各项凝血指标恢复迅速(P<0.05).结论:应根据具体情况个性化治疗肝移植患者.     

The conventional technique of in-situ split-liver transplantation

Split-liver transplantation are innovative surgical techniques of graft creation that expand the cadaver donor pool and decrease reliance upon living-donation. To date, split-liver transplantation has been principally applied to pediatric recipients with excellent outcomes. Significant decreases in pediatric wait-list times, wait-list morbidity, and lower utilization of living-donation at centers that routinely implement split-liver transplantation have led to renewed interest in expanding these techniques to include two adult recipients from one adult cadaver donor. This article details technical considerations of the conventional in situ split procedure for the creation of a pediatric left lateral segment graft and an adult trisegment graft, and summarizes current outcomes.     

Living-related liver transplantation: Report of experiences at Shinshu University Hospital

In view of the relative scarcity of pediatric cadaveric donors, living-related liver transplantation has recently been accepted as an alternative approach. It is also the only method of liver transplantation available in countries where cadaveric organ procurement is prohibited. Here we describe our experience of living-related liver transplantation in 17 patients at Shinshu University Hospital. The safety of the donor operation is of paramount importance in this type of liver transplantation. In Japan, retransplantation is very difficult in the event of the liver graft becoming nonfunctional. We have therefore placed emphasis on the donor hepatectomy technique as well as on surgical procedures and postoperative care to prevent graft loss in the recipient. Fifteen of the 17 patients who received liver transplants are currently alive; and 1 died of cytomegalovirus infection, and 1 of pulmonary complications. The actuarial 1-year survival rate for our series, determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis, was 89.5%. Although living-related liver transplantation requires a complicated surgical procedure, it has achieved reasonable results for both donors and recipients. We consider that living-related liver transplantation is a useful and reasonable option for patients requiring liver transplantation.     

The need for venovenous bypass in liver transplantation

Since introduction of the conventional liver transplantation (CLTx) by Starzl, which was based on the resection of recipient inferior vena cava (IVC) along the liver, the procedure has undergone several refinements. Successful use of venovenous bypass (VVB) was first introduced by Shaw et al., although in recent decades there has been controversy regarding the routine use of VVB during CLTx. With development of piggyback liver transplantation (PLTx), the use of caval clamping and VVB is avoided, leading to fewer complications related to VVB. However, some authors still advocate VVB in PLTx. The great diversity among centers in their use of VVB during CLTx, or even along the PLTx technique, has led to confusion regarding the indication setting for VVB. For this reason, we present an overview of the use of VVB in CLTx, the target of patients for whom VVB could be beneficial, and the needs assessment of VVB for patients undergoing PLTx. Recent studies have shown that with the advancement of surgical skills, refinement of surgical techniques, and improvements in anesthesiology, there are only limited indications for doing CLTx with VVB routinely. PLTx with preservation of IVC can be performed in almost all primary transplants and in the majority of re-transplantations without the need for VVB. Nevertheless, in a few selective cases with severe intra-operative hemodynamic instability, or with a failed test of transient IVC occlusion, the application of VVB is still justifiable. These indications should be judged intra-operatively and the decision is based on each center's preference.     

儿童肝移植的现状和未来

儿童肝移植已经成为儿童终末期肝病的标准治疗方法。发展儿童肝移植意义重大。本文从适应证、生存率、手术方式、技术性并发症、免疫抑制治疗、远期生存状况和受体危险度分层等方面对目前儿童肝移植的发展水平进行初步概述,并对未来发展作初步展望。     

Liver transplant for 70 patients with end-stage liver diseases

Introduction Progress in immunosuppression, surgical techniques, and perioperative care has promoted orthotopic liver transplantation from an experimental procedure to an accepted clinical treatment. Liver transplantation is considered the standard therapeutic approach for end-stage liver disease[1-4] with a postoperative survival rate increasing to 80% in 5 5] years.[1, However, there are a wide range of possible postoperative complications of technical and medical origin.[6-9] Based on ortho…     

肝移植在中国的发展现状

作为治疗各种终末期肝病唯一有效的方法,肝移植近年在国内发展迅速。叙述了肝移植在国内的最新发展成果,包括肝癌肝移植受者选择标准——杭州标准的确立;挽救性肝移植及降期治疗在肝癌肝移植中的最新应用;肝移植联合人工肝技术治疗急性重症肝衰竭的进展;活体肝移植技术创新和心脏死亡器官捐献移植在中国的突破性发展。面临器官短缺,应建立符合中国国情的科学规范的器官捐献体系,在造福于广大人民的同时也将进一步提升我国器官移植学界在国际上的声誉。     

Liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma in the world: the Taiwan experience

Liver transplantation (LT) has been regarded as “potentially curative” in a cirrhotic patient with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) because it removes the cancer and eradicates the cirrhosis. In Taiwan, HCC ranks first among the leading causes of cancer mortality in males and 4th in females. The most common causes are chronic hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis, hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis, and combined hepatitis B and C virus-related cirrhosis. The aggregate lifetime cost of hepatitis and HCC constitutes a significant burden on the Taiwanese health-care system. The reported overall (living-donor LT and deceased donor LT) 1- and 3-year survival rates for HCC after LT in Taiwan ranged from 86 to 98% and 61 to 96%, respectively. Microscopic vascular invasion did not influence the outcome of patients, but high alpha-fetoprotein levels >200 ng/ml may be a risk factor for HCC recurrence after transplant.     

Laparoscopic liver resection facilitates salvage liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma

Background/Purpose

In patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a previous liver resection (LR) may compromise subsequent liver transplantation (LT) by creating adhesions and increasing surgical difficulty. Initial laparoscopic LR (LLR) may reduce such technical consequences, but its effect on subsequent LT has not been reported. We report the operative results of LT after laparoscopic or open liver resection (OLR).

Methods

Twenty-four LT were performed, 12 following prior LLR and 12 following prior OLR. The LT was performed using preservation of the inferior vein cava. Indication for the LT was recurrent HCC in 19 cases (salvage LT), while five patients were listed for LT and underwent resection as a neoadjuvant procedure (bridge resection).

Results

In the LLR group, absence of adhesions was associated with straightforward access to the liver in all cases. In the OLR group, 11 patients required long and hemorrhagic dissection. Median durations of the hepatectomy phase and whole LT were 2.5 and 6.2 h, and 4.5 and 8.3 h in the LLR and OLR groups, respectively (P < 0.05). Median blood loss was 1200 ml and 2300 ml in the LLR and OLR groups, respectively (P < 0.05). Median transfusions of hepatectomy phase and whole LT were 0 and 3 U, and 2 and 6 U, respectively (P < 0.05). There were no postoperative deaths.

Conclusions

In our study, LLR facilitated the LT procedure as compared with OLR in terms of reduced operative time, blood loss and transfusion requirements. We conclude that LLR should be preferred over OLR when feasible in potential transplant candidates.