Management of severe hepatic trauma by two-stage total hepatectomy and subsequent liver transplantation

Even today major hepatic trauma remains a formidable surgical challenge with considerable deaths from exsanguination. Apart from conservative operative techniques that allow successful management in most cases, liver transplantation may be indicated in a more severe injury. This is a report on a patient with massive, unsalvageable liver trauma on whom the first two-staged procedure was successfully performed. After total hepatectomy as the first step and a prolonged anhepatic period of more than 14 hours, liver replacement by an allograft was carried out in a second operation. The patient recovered completely from the potentially lethal hepatic trauma and is alive more than 17 months later.     

肝切除及肝移植术中缺血预处理的临床研究进展

缺血再灌注损伤一直是肝切除及肝移植术中存在的问题,是术后肝功能衰竭和移植物无功能的主要原因,而缺血预处理能减轻这种损伤。文中综述了近年来缺血预处理及其在临床应用中的研究进展,探讨了该技术在临床上的实用价值。     

The impact of 3-D virtual hepatectomy simulation in living-donor liver transplantation

Background/Purpose In living-donor liver transplantation, accurate assessments of liver graft volume and anatomical variation are mandatory for the preoperative planning of safe donor hepatectomy and successful recipient implantation. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and accuracy of novel three-dimensional (3-D) virtual hepatectomy simulation software in living-donor liver transplantation. Methods We developed the hepatectomy simulation software, which was programmed to analyze detailed 3-D vascular structure and to predict liver graft volume, based on hepatic circulation. Results In 101 individuals, including 4 living donors, the predicted liver resection volumes revealed a significant correlation with the actual value (P < 0.0001), with a mean difference of 7.9 ml. The drainage area by the individual hepatic vein branch was quantified to achieve reconstruction of the corresponding venous branch. The application of multidetector computed technology scanning and virtual cholangioscopy facilitated more detailed visualization of the 3-D hilar anatomy in a left trisectoral graft transplantation. Conclusions This hepatectomy simulation software reliably predicted accurate liver graft volume and the drainage volume of hepatic vein branches. This software may contribute to the preoperative planning of safe donor hepatectomy and implantation with satisfactory graft viability.     

Relevance of a positive crossmatch in liver transplantation

We studied 27 liver transplants in 24 patients performed between November 1984 and January 1988. We investigated retrospectively the importance of donor reactive HLA class I and class II and of non-HLA antibodies for graft survival in these patients. In order to determine the specificity and class of the antibodies, we used monoclonal antibodies to HLA-A,-B,-C and DR and DQ antigens to block cytotoxicity of sera and the reagent dithiothreitol to characterize the immunoglobulin class. We found that humoral immunity to HLA antigens in liver-grafted patients, demonstrable as the presence of cytotoxic antibodies reactive with donor splenic T and/or B cells in the pretransplantation period, is associated with significantly lower graft survival as compared with patients without demonstrable preformed HLA antibodies (P=0.01). In addition we found that a substantial proportion of patients had donor-reactive cytotoxic antibodies which were not HLA specific. Thus, our study shows that HLA immunity can influence liver allograft survival, and that it is useful to have patient cytotoxic antibodies characterized with regard to HLA reactivity prior to transplantation.     

急诊肝移植治疗急性肝功能衰竭22例的临床分析

目的 探讨急诊肝移植治疗急性肝功能衰竭的效果.方法 回顾分析2003年1月至2009年1月间22例急性肝功能衰竭患者急诊行肝移植的临床资料,对患者预后、存活率及并发症等情况进行总结.结果 22例患者中,与乙型病毒性肝炎相关肝功能衰竭14例,与药物相关性肝功能衰竭8例.术前等待供肝的平均时间为2.3d.围手术期死亡3例(13.6％),1例于术后5个月时死于严重肺部感染,1例于术后6个月时接受再次肝移植治疗,其他受者术后移植肝功能恢复良好.手术并发症主要为腹腔出血2例,胆道并发症2例,无血管并发症.非手术并发症主要包括不同程度的肾功能障碍22例,肺部感染11例,排斥反应3例,神经与精神症状17例,癫痫1例.术后1、2、3年受者存活率分别为81.8 ％(18/22)、81.8 ％(18/22)和81.8 ％(18/22),移植物存活率分别为81.8％(18/22)、77.3 ％(17/22)和77.3％(17/22).结论 急诊肝移植治疗急性肝功能衰竭的效果良好,术前应合理评估供肝和受者情况,减少等待供肝时间,术后有效地处理各种并发症是提高受者预后的关键.     

Results of liver transplantation in acute liver failure caused by viral hepatitis

Abstract Fulminant liver failure due to acute viral hepatitis is the most common emergency indication for liver transplantation. The postoperative course is highly correlated with the type and duration of infection. The complication rate is lowest in fulminant hepatitis B patients and highest in subacute hepatitis C/NANB patients.     

Auxiliary liver transplantation with arterialization of the portal vein for acute hepatic failure

Six adult patients suffering from acute hepatic failure and with a high urgent status underwent heterotopic auxiliary liver transplantation. In four of these patients, the portal vein of the liver graft was arterialized in order to leave the native liver and the liver hilum untouched and to be able to place the liver graft wherever space was available in the abdomen. The arterial blood flow via the portal vein was tapered by the width of the anastomosis. Two patients died, one of sepsis on postoperative day 17 (POD), the other after 3 months due to a severe CMV pneumonia. There were no technically related deaths. The native liver showed early regeneration in all cases. In one patient, the auxiliary graft was removed 6 weeks after transplantation. Four weeks later, he had to undergo orthotopic retransplantation due to a recurrent fulminant failure of the recovered native liver. This patient is alive more than 1 year after the operation. We conclude that heterotopic auxiliary liver transplantation with portal vein arterialization is a suitable approach to bridging the recovery of the acute failing native liver. Received: 15 September 1997 Received after revision: 4 February 1998 Accepted: 2 March 1998     

Auxiliary heterotopic partial liver transplantation in pigs with acute liver failure

Fulminant hepatic failure is usually fatal without liver transplantation; however, orthotopic liver transplantation is often difficult to perform due to the high risk of coagulopathy and the development of multiple organ failure. Auxiliary heterotopic partial liver transplantation (APLT), however, has the potential to provide an effective hepatic support system considering that the host liver is left in situ and the surgical procedure is less invasive. In this report, we describe the beneficial effects of performing 60% APLT on the hepatic function and survival of pigs with acute hepatic failure induced by hepatic artery ligation. The pigs were divided into a control group of nine animals (group 1) that had portal vein and hepatic artery ligation with a side-to-side portacaval shunt, and an APLT group of seven animals (group 2) that had portal vein and hepatic artery ligation with APLT. The two left lateral lobes of the donor liver were resected, reducing the liver weight to about 60%, and the graft was placed in the right subhepatic space. No deaths occurred intraoperatively. In group 1, eight pigs died of massive liver necrosis within 48 h and one died between 48 and 72 h (median surivival 23 h). In group 2, two pigs died within 72 h due to preservation or anesthetic problems, but five survived for more than 3 days (median survival 13.4 days), with a significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). One animal was killed 30 days after APLT and excellent graft function was demonstrated by the synthesis of clotting factors, ammonia detoxification, and glucohomeostasis. Moreover, evidence of hepatic regeneration was found in the transplanted livers. These results indicate that APLT provides metabolic support and improves survival in animals with induced acute liver failure.     

Two-stage liver transplantation: an effective procedure in urgent conditions

Montalti R, Busani S, Masetti M, Girardis M, Di Benedetto F, Begliomini B, Rompianesi G, Rinaldi L, Ballarin R, Pasetto A, Gerunda GE. Two-stage liver transplantation: an effective procedure in urgent conditions.
Clin Transplant 2010: 24: 122–126. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S.
Abstract:  Temporary portocaval shunt and total hepatectomy is a technique used in the presence of toxic liver syndrome because of fulminant hepatic failure, hepatic trauma, primary non-function (PNF), and eclampsia. We performed this technique on four patients. An indication for anhepatic state was severe hemodynamic instability in three of them. Etiologies of these three patients were as follows: PNF after liver transplantation, ischemic hepatitis after right hepatic artery embolization, and massive reperfusion syndrome during a liver transplantation. In the fourth patient, during the liver transplantation when hepatic artery was ligated, a kidney carcinoma in the donor graft was discovered. We decided to complete the hepatectomy and to construct a temporary portocaval shunt.
Mean anhepatic phases were 19 h and 15 min. All patients survived the two-stage liver transplantation procedure without major complications. Our cases demonstrated that temporary portocaval shunt while awaiting urgent liver transplantation could be an effective "bridge" in selected patients who develop toxic liver syndrome; however, a short time between portocaval shunt and transplantation and careful intensive care managements are mandatory.     

Native hepatectomy after auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation

In countries where a living donor is the only source of the graft, the limited size of the graft is of serious concern when considering extending the procedure to adult recipients. In order to overcome this problem, auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation (APOLT) was applied to the concept that the residual native liver would support the graft function until the graft expanded enough to work by itself. We herein report on a 20-year-old woman with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), who received a small-size liver graft by APOLT. Computed tomography and scintigraphy showed that the graft had regenerated sufficiently 1 month after the operation. The diseased residual native liver is potentially carcinogenetic. Therefore, second-stage native hepatectomy was done 35 days after the first operation. Histopathologic examination of the resected native liver revealed biliary cirrhosis with PSC but no evidence of cholangiocarcinoma. Second-stage native hepatectomy after APOLT seems to be a curative treatment for chronic end-stage liver disease with graft size mismatch that may be as good as orthotopic liver transplantation. Received: 22 October 1998 Received after revision: 15 January 1999 Accepted: 26 February 1999     

急诊成人活体右半肝肝移植治疗重型肝炎肝功能衰竭的临床研究

目的 探讨急诊成人活体右半肝肝移植在治疗重型肝炎肝功能衰竭中的作用.方法 2007年4至12月接受活体肝移植患者中,共有10例接受了急诊活体肝移植治疗(4例为慢性重型肝炎、6例为急性肝功能衰竭;9例为乙型肝炎、1例为药物性肝功能衰竭).终末期肝病模型(MELD)评分平均为33.22±6.55.ABO血型相同者8例,相容者2例,Rh不相容者1例.对术后的相关指标进行前瞻性分析.结果 1例术后发生腔静脉血栓形成致急性肾功能衰竭死亡,另1例发生肝动脉血栓形成致移植物失功能而死亡,余受者和所有供者均恢复良好,受者随访6～14个月,中位生存已达8.5个月,均无并发症发生.平均移植物重量和受者体重比值为(1.19±0.14)%,移植物容积和受者估计标准肝容积比为(65.13±8.75)%;带肝中静脉右半肝移植物3例,不带肝中静脉右半肝合并Ⅴ段和Ⅷ段流出道重建3例,不带肝中静脉右半肝4例.术后血清肌酐、内毒素水平、凝血酶原活动度及总胆红素分别在术后第3、7、14、28天恢复到正常水平.结论 急诊成人活体右半肝肝移植治疗重型肝炎肝功能衰竭效果满意,作为重型肝炎肝功能衰竭的抢救治疗疗效确切.     

大鼠原位辅助性肝移植治疗急性肝功能衰竭

为了评价大鼠原位辅助性部分肝移植（ＡＰＯＬＴ）对急性肝功能衰竭的支持作用。切除７５％的肝脏并阻残余肝脏的血供５０分钟导大鼠急性肝功能衰竭。治疗组受体计切除７５％并将３０％的供肝植于原位，然后阻断残余的右上叶的右下叶之血供５０分钟。结果显示，大鼠急性肝功能衰竭的５天生存率仅３３％，而接受ＡＰＯＬＴ者５天生存率和移植肝存活率分别为８０％和７３％，术后第５天肝功能基本恢复正常。可见，大肝切除和余肝缺血诱     

Future liver volume combined with platelet count predicts liver failure after major hepatectomy

BackgroundMajor hepatectomy is associated with high incidence of post-hepatectomy liver failure (PHLF). This study aimed to evaluate the effect of future remnant liver volume combined with liver function tests on predicting PHLF.MethodsPatients who underwent major hepatectomy from April 2009 to May 2017 were enrolled in the training cohort. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent risk factors of PHLF and generate a logistic regression model for the prediction of PHLF. A conditional inference tree was generated based on the optimal cutoff value of independent predictive factors of PHLF. The precedent results were validated in an independent cohort from June 2017 to March 2018.ResultsOne hundred and eighteen patients were included in the training cohort, while another 34 in the validation cohort. Future remnant liver volume/estimated standard total liver volume (FLV/eTV) and preoperative platelet count were independent predictive factors of PHLF (P = 0.0021 and P = 0.012, respectively). The conditional inference tree showed that patients with FLV/eTV ≤0.56 and PLT count ≤145 × 10⁹/L were at high risk of developing PHLF.ConclusionFLV/eTV combined with preoperative PLT count is effective in predicting PHLF after major hepatectomy.     

Successful resolution of severe hepatopulmonary syndrome following liver transplantation

Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a complication of portal hypertension, defined by the presence of liver disease, abnormal pulmonary gas exchange and evidence of intrapulmonary vascular dilatations producing a right‐to‐left intrapulmonary shunt. Liver transplantation (LT) is the treatment of choice; however, severe hypoxemia (PaO₂ < 50 mmHg on room air) is considered a contraindication to LT. This approach disadvantages some patients, particularly young patients with no intrinsic cardio‐respiratory disease. We discuss one such patient who improved with LT despite having extremely severe HPS (PaO₂ < 29 mmHg)     

A comparison of the costs and effects of liver transplantation for acute and for chronic liver failure

Little is known about costs and cost-effectiveness of liver transplantation (LTx) for acute liver failure compared to costs and cost-effectiveness of LTx for chronic liver failure. In this study, costs of acute and of chronic LTx patients were determined in a retrospective study. Files of 100 consecutive patients who underwent LTx in 1993–1997 were studied. Costs up to 1 year after LTx were Euro 107,675 (chronic liver failure) and Euro 90,792 (acute liver failure). The difference was mainly caused by higher hospitalisation costs and higher personnel costs for chronic liver failure. Medication costs for acute liver failure were higher, due to a high administration rate of expensive anti-HBs immunoglobulin therapy in patients with viral hepatitis B. LTx for chronic liver failure is more costly and seems to be more cost-effective than LTx for acute liver failure, since 1-year survival is higher in patients who underwent transplantation for chronic liver failure. Received: 25 October 1999 Revised: 29 September 2000 Accepted: 18 December 2000     

Safety of donor right hepatectomy for adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the usefulness of preoperative evaluations of donors by computed tomography (CT) volumetry and CT cholangiography for prevention of unexpected liver failure and biliary complications after donor right hepatectomy for adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation. Fifty-two donors who underwent right hepatectomy without the middle hepatic vein were enrolled in this study. The values of graft weight (GW) were significantly correlated with those of estimated graft volume (GV; P < 0.0001). GW was predicted by the following formula: GW = 155.25 + 0.658 x GV; r(2) = 0.489. CT cholangiography revealed anatomical variants of biliary structure in one-third of the donors and also clearly showed one or two small biliary branches from the caudate lobe to the right hepatic ducts or the confluence in 58% of the donors. Biliary leakage, which was treated by conservative therapy, occurred in only one donor (1.9%). No donors received homologous blood transfusion. Hyperbilirubinemia (serum total bilirubin >5 mg/dl) occurred in 5.8% of the donors during their early postoperative periods. Precise evaluations of liver remnant volume by CT volumetry and biliary variation by CT cholangiography are essential for performing safe donor hepatectomy, preventing hepatic insufficiency and minimizing the risk of biliary tract complications.     

急诊肝移植治疗暴发性肝功能衰竭四例

目的总结暴发性肝功能衰竭实施紧急肝移植的经验。方法回顾性分析4例接受紧急肝移植的暴发性肝功能衰竭患者的临床资料。结果4例患者于术后12～48h神志恢复清醒,无手术并发症,术后有2例各发生急性排斥反应1次,经治疗逆转。4例患者均存活至今,肝功能良好,患者分别存活38、17、11及7个月,3例恢复工作。结论紧急肝移植是治疗暴发性肝功能衰竭的有效手段;围手术期的正确处理及手术时机的选择是提高紧急肝移植成功率的关键之一。     

小体积肝移植和辅助性原位小体积肝移植治疗猪急性肝功能衰竭的近期疗效观察

目的观察小体积肝移植和辅助性原位小体积肝移植治疗猪急性肝功能衰竭的近期疗效。方法急性肝功能衰竭猪随机分为3组接受肝移植治疗:A组行全肝移植(n=5);B组行小体积肝移植(n=5);C组行辅助性原位小体积肝移植(n=5)。各组动物开腹后即刻、切脾后即刻和再灌注后30 min分别监测门静脉压力,并观察术后生化指标变化、病理改变和1周生存率。结果A、B和C三组的移植肝重量与受体体重之比分别为(2．44±0．30)％、(0．76±0．02)％和(0．75±0．03)％。再灌注后30 min,B组移植肝门静脉压力显著高于其它两组(A:B:C=13．3:17．5:12．2 cmH2O, P<0．01),C组原肝门静脉压力显著高于移植肝门静脉压力(14．3:12．2 cmH2O,P<0．05)。A组和C组术后第2天起血清天冬氨酸转氨酶、总胆红素、凝血酶原时间、乳酸和血氨水平明显下降,术后第7天基本恢复至正常水平。B组术后上述生化指标一直维持在较高的水平,术后第2～4天明显高于其它两组(P<0．01)。A组、B组和C组1周生存率分别为100％、20％和80％,B组明显低于其它两组(P<0．05)。结论辅助性原位小体积肝移植治疗急性肝功能衰竭近期疗效优于小体积肝移植,术中不必干预原肝门静脉。