Two-step biliary external stent removal after living donor liver transplantation.

Biliary stenting plays an important role in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) as the rate of biliary complication is higher in LDLT than in diseased donor whole LT. We use a 2-mm tube for stenting at the biliary anastomosis, externalize it through the lower common bile duct, and fistulize it using duodenal serosa. After 3 months without biliary complications ensured by a cholangiogram, the stent tube is removed in a two-step manner, allowing bile to drain under a fluoroscope. The incidence of local peritonitis was lower, and the hospital stay was shorter with the two-step procedure. We herein report on the method of the two-step removal and its efficacy.     

Evolving strategies to prevent biliary strictures after living donor liver transplantation

Introduction

The optimal surgical technique has not been elucidated that reduces the occurrence of biliary strictures after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT).

Method

We performed retrospective analysis of 193 consecutive LDLTs, including 78 right and 115 left lobe grafts. An external biliary stent was used for all of the cases.

Results

The overall 1-, 3-, and 5-year biliary stricture-free survival rates were 87.5%, 85.3%, and 85.3%, respectively. The 1- and 3-year biliary stricture-free survival rates for duct-to-duct reconstruction were 86.9% and 84.9%, and those for hepaticojejunostomy were 90.1% and 80.8%, respectively. A multivariate analysis revealed that the original number of graft bile ducts greater than the number of external stents, right lobe grafts, bile leaks, and recipient age older than 60 years represented the significant risk factors (P < .05) to develop a biliary stricture after LDLT. All cases with biliary strictures (n = 61) were initially managed nonsurgically, but 4 patients ultimately required interventions.

Conclusions

Biliary reconstruction in LDLT using an appropriate number of external stents resulted in fairly acceptable outcomes. However, not only the proper use of stents or graft selection, but also nonsurgical factors, are important factors that determine the incidence of biliary strictures after LDLT.     

活体肝移植术后胆管并发症的处理与预防

目的 探讨活体肝移植术后胆管并发症的防治.方法 84例活体肝移植,成人56例.小儿28例;良性终末期肝病66例,肝细胞肝癌18例.供受体胆管端端吻合重建50例,供体肝管与受体肝管端端和胆总管端侧吻合重建1例,供体肝管与受体肝管和胆囊管吻合1例,供体胆管与受体空肠Roux-en-Y吻合重建32例,所有胆管莺建后均置入4Fr或6Fr内支架管从受体胆总管前壁或空肠袢肓端侧肠壁引出体外.结果 术后发生胆管并发症24例,发生率为28.5%,胆管胆管吻合与肝管空肠Roux-en-Y吻合胆漏发牛率差异显著(8.3%νs16.7%,P＜0.05).胆管胆管吻合与肝管空肠Roux-en-Y吻合胆管狭窄发生率差异显著(50%νs 16.7%,P＜0.05).单支胆管与多支胆管发生胆管并发症差异湿著(20.8%νs 79.2%,P＜0.05).胆漏者保守治疗治愈4例,再次手术治疗治愈4例;胆管狭窄内镜下球囊扩张和鼻胆管引流治疗治愈4例,好转2例,再次手术胆管空肠Roux-en-Y吻合治疗治愈6例,经皮肝脏穿刺胆管狭窄球囊扩张治疗支架管引流治疗好转4例.该组资料无因胆管并发症死亡病例.结论 良好的胆管血供和吻合技术,选择恰当的胆管重建方式,是降低活体肝移植术后胆管并发症的重要措施.     

Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty for hepatic artery stenosis after living donor liver transplantation.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) for treatment of hepatic artery stenosis after living donor liver transplantation. Eighteen patients with hepatic artery stenosis after living donor liver transplantation were included in this study. The success rate and complications of PTA and recurrent stenosis of the hepatic artery were evaluated. Seventeen of 18 patients (94.4%) were successfully treated without complication by a first PTA procedure. Recurrence of hepatic artery stenosis occurred in 6 patients (33.3%). Repeated PTA was performed 12 times for the 6 patients. Two complications occurred as arterial dissection and perforation. As a consequence, the complication rate was 6.7%, involving 2 of 30 procedures in total. In conclusion, PTA is effective for treatment of hepatic artery stenosis after living donor liver transplantation without an increase in the complication rate.     

超声检查在活体肝移植受体术后胆道并发症诊断中的应用

目的 探讨超声检查在活体肝移植术后胆道并发症诊断中的临床应用。方法 对21例成人右半肝活体移植受体术后进行超声检查,观察移植肝及其胆道声像图表现,与经皮经肝穿刺胆道造影引流(PTCD)等影像学结果相对比。结果 21例病例经PTCD及临床随访证实为胆管吻合口狭窄5例,胆泥1例,胆漏1例。超声检查能够诊断并与之相符5例,为4例吻合口狭窄及1例胆泥,胆漏病例可见肝周积液。其中4例胆管吻合口狭窄病例超声诊断时间均明显早于临床出现黄疸或血清胆红素升高的时间。结论 在活体肝移植术后胆道并发症的诊断中,超声检查操作简便、无创、可重复性强、准确性较高,可早期诊断胆管并发症,具有重要的临床应用价值。     

Duct-to-duct biliary reconstruction in adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation

In living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy has been a standard technique for biliary reconstruction because the majority had been pediatric patients with biliary atresia. Adult-to-adult LDLT using the right lobe graft has recently been developed and we introduced duct-to-duct biliary reconstruction (hepaticohepaticostomy) in such cases. The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of this procedure in adult-to-adult LDLT. From August 2000 to October 2001, five patients underwent adult-to-adult LDLT using the right hepatic lobe and were followed for more than 6 months at our institution. All patients underwent duct-to-duct biliary reconstruction (single hepaticohepaticostomy in one, multiple in four). For the grafts with multiple bile ducts, various techniques were used for reconstruction. In all patients, oral intake could be started early after the operation, and biliary leakage was not encountered. One patient developed two episodes of acute cholangitis who later developed biliary anastomosis stricture which required percutaneous dilatation at 11 months postop. However, otherwise, there were no infectious complications postoperatively. We conclude duct-to-duct biliary reconstruction is feasible and effective in adult-to-adult LDLT.     

Long-term outcome of living donor liver transplantation for primary biliary cirrhosis

In living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) for primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), the majority of donors are genetically related to their recipients, leading to concerns of an earlier recurrence of PBC and a poorer prognosis due to genetic susceptibility. Totally 81 patients who underwent LDLT for PBC were the subjects of the present study. Immunosuppressive agents consisted of tacrolimus and methylprednisolone. In the outpatient clinic, when the aspartate and alanine aminotransferase level exceeded the upper limit of the normal range, the dose of methylprednisolone was increased from 4 to 6 mg/day for several months. Blood was examined every 2 weeks for 3 months and a liver biopsy was performed when aminotransferase levels did not decrease to the upper limit of the normal range after more than 3 months. Five-year survival and recurrence rates were estimated and the prognostic factors were analyzed. The mean observation period was 6.2 years. Five years after LDLT for PBC, the biopsy-proven PBC recurrence rate was 1%. The 5-year patient survival rate was 80%. The nonrelated or blood-related donor factor and number of human leukocyte antigen matches did not correlate with prognosis. PBC recurrence rate after LDLT in our series was lower than that in previous studies.     

Preoperative vascular evaluation in living donor liver transplantation for biliary atresia

Background

Liver transplantation is an important treatment option in the management of end-stage liver disease. Preoperative vascular evaluation plays an important role for a safe and successful operation, especially in pediatric patients undergoing living donor liver transplantation (LDLT).

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to assess the usefulness and accuracy of Doppler ultrasound (US), computed tomographic angiography (CTA), and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) in evaluating vascular anomalies in patients with biliary atresia (BA) undergoing LDLT.

Methods and Materials

Images of Doppler US, CTA, and MRA for preoperative vascular evaluation in 55 patients with BA undergoing LDLT were reviewed with the operative findings.

Results

All patients underwent preoperative US, CTA, and MRA. Pathologic portal vein (n = 18), interruption of the retrohepatic vena cava (n = 1), and aberrant right hepatic artery from the superior mesenteric artery (n = 2) were confirmed during the transplantation. The success rates of CTA and MRA in identifying vascular anomalies were 96% and 82%, respectively (P = .01). The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of Doppler US were 89%, 94%, and 92%, respectively. For CTA, it was 94%, 97%, and 96%, respectively; for MRA (including technical failure), it was 75%, 97%, and 89%, respectively.

Conclusion

Doppler US serves as an initial assessment for vascular evaluation and has the advantage in determining vascular flow quantities. CTA and MRA are used for precise surgical planning. However, MRA has lower success and accuracy rates when compared with CTA (P = .01). Doppler US with CTA can provide accurate preoperative vascular imaging in patients with BA undergoing LDLT.     

Renal impairment after living donor liver transplantation

BACKGROUND: There are few reports of postoperative renal impairment after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). METHODS: We reviewed 246 LDLT recipients to examine the effects of postoperative renal impairment on the results of LDLT. RESULTS: The incidence of renal impairment and the requirements for postoperative renal replacement therapy were 29% and 9%, respectively. Intraoperative blood loss (P<.0001) and preoperative serum creatinine (P=.0002) were significant independent risk factors for the development of early renal dysfunction. Patients who required renal replacement therapy had a lower survival rate (P=.01). CONCLUSIONS: We identified the risk factors for postoperative renal impairment, providing useful metrics to establish a treatment strategy for high risk liver transplant patients.     

Endoscopic management of biliary complications after adult right-lobe living donor liver transplantation without initial biliary decompression

Objectives

We sought to examine biliary complications in adult right-lobe living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) with duct-to-duct anastomosis (RL-LDLT-DD), evaluating the efficacy of endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC) in the diagnosis and management of biliary complications following LDLT.

Methods

Ninety adult RL-LDLT-DD were performed from June 2004 to August 2007, including 21 (23.3%) cases of biliary complications.

Results

The endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatiography (ERCP) findings were stricture only (n = 8), stricture plus leakage (n = 9), and leakage only (n = 4). In the overall 13 cases of leakage, nine patients recovered after treatment by stent or endoscopic nasobiliary drainage. The time to resolution was 3.0 ± 1.3 months with 2.2 ± 1.3 endoscopic examinations. All bile duct complications were treated by ERC first. Among 17 cases with stricture, seven cases were successfully treated by endoscopy and three cases by percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography plus stent (PTCS). In the other seven cases, the treatment was still ongoing in five cases and two subjects died during treatment. The mean time to stricture resolution 7.2 ± 3.3 months with 3.9 ± 1.4 endoscopic examinations. The results of 21 cases were 5/21 mortalities (23.8%), successful ERC treatment in 9/21; (42.9%), successful PTCS treatment in 3/21 (14.3%), and ongoing ERC treatment in 5/21, (23.8%), including one case with successful ERC treatment who died of lung infection postoperatively. During follow-up (13.1 ± 9.9 months), there was no recurrence in the stricture or leak.

Conclusions

When compared with the literature, RL-LDLT-DD without biliary drainage does not increase the incidence of biliary complications. From our study, ERC and PTC play a complementary roles in the treatment of bile duct complications.     

活体肝移植的胆道重建与胆道并发症

To systematically summarize the current status of surgical techniques in biliary reconstruction and biliary complications following living donor liver transplantation and analyze the biliary reconstruction techniques and difficulties in the prevention of biliary complications.The refinements of surgical techniques and successful prevention and therapeutic strategies for reducing biliary complications after living donor liver transplantation are discussed.     

Biliary anastomosis and biliary complications following living donor liver transplantation

Biliary complications are one of the most important problems in liver transplantation. Regardless of various improvements of surgical technique, liver transplantation is associated with significant biliary problems. In this article, we have described a biliary anastomosis method with a continuous suture (CS) technique in the posterior wall and interrupted suture (IS) technique for the anterior wall. We performed this biliary reconstruction in 28 adult patients between September 2003 and August 2007. Prior to that time our procedure was a CS anastomosis for both the anterior and posterior walls. A 5-Fr catheter is inserted into the biliary system. The current biliary complication was 3 cases (13.0%) of stenosis at the anastomosis, which is lower than that for a CS anastomosis. This anastomosis reduced biliary complications and is simple.     

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.