Splenectomy in living donor liver transplantation and risk factors of portal vein thrombosis

BackgroundGraft inflow modulation (GIM) during adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is a common strategy to avoid small-for-size syndrome, and some transplant surgeons attempt small size graft strategy with frequent GIM procedures, which are mostly performed by splenectomy, in LDLT. However, splenectomy can cause serious complications such as portal vein thrombosis and overwhelming postsplenectomy infection.MethodsForty-eight adult-to-adult LDLT recipients were enrolled in this study and retrospectively reviewed. We applied the graft selection criteria, which routinely fulfill graft-to-recipient weight ratio ≥ 0.8%, and consider GIM as a backup strategy for high portal venous pressure (PVP).ResultsIn our current strategy of LDLT, splenectomy was performed mostly due to hepatitis C and splenic arterial aneurysms, but splenectomy for GIM was intended to only one patient (2.1%). The final PVP values ≤ 20 mmHg were achieved in all recipients, and no significant difference was observed in patient survival or postoperative clinical course based on whether splenectomy was performed or not. However, 6 of 18 patients with splenectomy (33.3%) developed postsplenectomy portal vein thrombosis (PVT), while none of the 30 patients without splenectomy developed PVT after LDLT. Splenectomy was identified as a risk factor of PVT in this study (P < 0.001). Our study revealed that a lower final PVP could be risk factor of postsplenectomy PVT.ConclusionsUsing sufficient size grafts was one of the direct solutions to control PVP, and allowed GIM to be reserved as a backup procedure. Splenectomy should be avoided as much as possible during LDLT because splenectomy was found to be a definite risk factor of PVT. In splenectomy cases with a lower final PVP, a close follow-up is required for early detection and treatment of PVT.     

Outcome of living donor liver transplantation in patients with preoperative portal vein thrombosis

Background and study aimsPortal vein thrombosis (PVT) is no longer an absolute contraindication for living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). This study aimed to assess the short-term outcomes of LDLT and compare the 1-year survival rates between patients with and without preoperative PVT.Patients and methodsThis combined prospective and retrospective cohort study was conducted on patients who underwent LDLT at Ain Shams Centre for Organ Transplantation (ASCOT) between 2008 and 2020. The study included 60 patients with PVT and 60 patients without PVT. The two groups were compared in terms of preoperative data, operative details, postoperative complications, and 1-year survival.ResultsMost patients with PVT were Child C (65%) and had higher model for end stage liver disease scores (16.23 ± 4.03) compared to the non-PVT group (13.9 ± 4.5). The PVT group showed longer cold ischemic time (CIT), hospital stay, and intensive care unit stay and significantly shorter 1-year survival rate (63.3%) compared to the non-PVT group (86.7%) (P = 0.003). Those with PVT grades I, II, and III had 1-year survival rates of 72.5%, 50%, and 40%, respectively.ConclusionPreoperative PVT reduces the 1-year survival after transplantation, with patients with higher PVT grades exhibiting lower 1-year survival. LDLT for PVT still remains challenging and requires further studies.     

Techniques for overcoming atretic changes of the portal vein in living donor liver transplantation

BackgroundSpontaneous diversion of the portal flow through collateral vessels into the systemic circulation is frequently observed in liver transplant recipients with severe portal hypertension. This induces main portal vein atretic change and modifies flow into the collateral even after donor graft implantation. These atretic changes make liver transplantation challenging. In this article we described several methods for overcoming this challenge by appropriate surgical techniques.MethodsThree anastomotic techniques for living donor liver transplantation were performed in patients with atretic changes in the portal vein.ResultsThe three techniques were (1) venoplasty to widen the diameter by using the recipient's portal vein, and the diameter of the recipient's portal vein was enlarged using their own portal vein stump patch; (2) conduit with cryopreserved vessels, and we dissected around the superior mesenteric vein and splenic vein junction and a conduit was built using the cryopreserved vessels; and (3) left gastric varix to portal vein anastomosis, if the recipients had large gastric varix and variceal wall was sufficiently thick for anastomosis.ConclusionsSelection of optimal methods for portal vein anastomosis is essential in patients with atrophic change on the portal vein. If these methods are used aptly, they can be considered as favorable methods for overcoming each situation.     

Hepatic vein in living donor liver transplantation

Right lobe living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is a major development in adult LDLT that has significantly increased the donor pool by providing larger graft size and by decreasing risk of small-for-size graft syndrome. However, right lobe anatomy is complex, not only from the inflow but also from the outflow perspective. Outflow reconstruction is one of the key requirements of a successful LDLT and venous drainage of the liver graft is just as important as hepatic inflow for the integrity of graft function. Outflow complications may cause acute graft failure which is not always easy to diagnose. The right lobe graft consists of two sections and three hepatic venous routes for drainage that require reconstruction. In order to obtain a congestion free graft, several types of vascular conduits and postoperative interventions are needed to assure an adequate venous allograft drainage. This review described the anatomy, functional basis and the evolution of outflow reconstruction in right lobe LDLT.     

Hepatofugal portal flow after living donor liver transplantation

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Reversed portal flow following liver transplantation is life-threatening complication. There are few reports, however, regarding reversed portal flow after liver transplantation. METHODOLOGY: We performed 180 living donor liver transplantations (LDLTs) over 8 years. Portal vein flow was routinely measured postoperatively two or three times a day during the first 2 weeks after LDLT. Surgical correction of reversed portal flow was attempted as soon as possible. RESULTS: Five patients (2%) were complicated by postoperative hepatofugal portal flow. The reversed portal flow was corrected surgically in all the patients by splenectomy and/or ligation of the residual collateral veins. The revision operation was repeated in two patients. In three patients, the shunts responsible for hepatofugal flow were not detected in preoperative imaging, which must be approached under the guidance of intraoperative ultrasound or radiologic examination. All five patients survived the operation. CONCLUSIONS: Hepatofugal flow causes ischemic damage to the graft, which will not normalize spontaneously. Prompt treatment of the reversed portal flow salvaged the graft.     

All-in-one sleeve patch graft venoplasty for multiple hepatic vein reconstruction in living donor liver transplantation

Objectives

This paper presents an innovative technique to address complex multiple hepatic vein (HV) reconstruction in right lobe graft living donor liver transplantation (RL-LDLT).

Methods

A patient with hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis underwent RL-LDLT. The graft had seven HVs, including: the right HV (17 mm); one segment VII HV (11 mm); two segment VI HVs (6 mm and 16 mm), and three segment V HVs. The graft weighed 663 g (53% of standard liver volume; ratio of graft weight to recipient body weight: 0.96). Each HV had significant drainage territory requiring reconstruction. A cryopreserved iliac vein graft was used to create a sleeve patch to incorporate the HV openings. The holes were anastomosed to their corresponding HV tributaries using continuous 6–0 polydioxanone (PDS) sutures. Two of the three segment V HVs were combined using a smaller iliac vein patch, which was anastomosed in an end-to-side fashion to a previously harvested recipient umbilical vein interposition graft. The other end of the umbilical vein graft was anastomosed to the larger iliac vein sleeve patch.

Results

Overall, six HV openings were incorporated in one sleeve patch to allow a single wide anastomosis with the recipient inferior vena cava. Doppler ultrasound after reconstruction showed adequate flow patterns in all the HVs.

Conclusions

All-in-one sleeve patch graft venoplasty simplifies the reconstruction of multiple HVs and reduces warm ischaemia time in RL-LDLT with excellent outcomes.     

Adult to pediatric living donor liver transplantation for portal cavernoma

Aim:  Portal cavernoma (PC) is an important cause of non-cirrhotic portal hypertension with severe complications, such as variceal hemorrhage in pediatric patients. With the development of new surgical techniques, living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has recently been recognized as a viable but challenging treatment option for PC. The purpose of the present study was to summarize the efficacy of LDLT in PC patients and to carry out a follow-up study of pediatric recipients.
Methods:  The primary indication for LDLT in our research was PC with severe variceal bleeding and liver function decompensation. Three patients were diagnosed with PC following evaluation with computed tomography angiography and abdominal color Doppler ultrasonography (CDU).
Results:  Various surgical techniques, including jump bypass grafting for portal vein anastomosis, were carried out according to the range and degree of cavernous transformation within the splenic vein and superior mesenteric vein. Postoperative CDU confirmed the early integrity of the portal vein (PV) in each patient. PV rethrombosis occurred in one patient 7 days after LDLT, despite anticoagulation therapy with coumadin. Two of the three patients had no further episodes of variceal hemorrhage during the 2-year follow-up period.
Conclusions:  The present study is the first report of the successful use of LDLT to treat pediatric PC patients. We conclude that LDLT is effective for the majority of pediatric patients with PC.     

静脉移植物在成人间活体肝移植中应用的研究

目的研究移植血管在成人间活体右半肝移植（LDLT）中的应用。方法对26例成人间LDLT患者，用大隐静脉重建肝Ⅴ、Ⅷ段肝中静脉粗大属支，及右肝下静脉，用大隐静脉补片修补供体门静脉损伤．狭窄以及肝动脉搭桥。结果利用大隐静咏重建Ⅴ、Ⅷ段肝中静脉粗大属支和右肝下静脉流出道20例，其总的重建率76．9％（20／26），其中重建一支静脉15例，重建两支静脉5例。重建引流的模式和病例数如下：Ⅴ53例，Ⅴ82例，Ⅴ5和Ⅴ83例，V5和右肝下静脉1例，Ⅴ8和右肝下静脉1例，右肝下静脉10例。肝动脉搭桥率11．5％（3／26），肝动脉和腹主动脉间大隐静脉搭桥2例，肝动脉与肝动脉间夫隐静脉搭桥1例。供体门静脉补片1例。所有病例术中和术后随访2～48月，超声检查均未发现血栓，血流通畅。结论自体大隐静脉在LDLT术中重建Ⅴ5、Ⅴ8及右肝下静脉流出道和肝动脉搭桥，能有效预防小肝综合征和动脉并发症。     

Macrochimerism of donor type CD56+ CD3+ T cells in donor specific transfusion via portal vein following living related donor liver transplantation

Antigens given orally or through the portal vein are known to be less immunogenic and to induce immunologic unresponsiveness. The mechanisms responsible for graft enhancement are still unclear. Moreover, in actuality, it is difficult to perform transfer of donor antigens via the portal vein in clinical transplantation. We investigated the effect of transfer of donor blood via the portal vein intra- and post-operatively in living related donor liver transplantation for recurrent multiple hepatocellular carcinoma. A 62-year-old female, who suffered from recurrent multiple hepatocellular carcinoma with hepatitis C virus, underwent living related donor liver transplantation with the right lobe of her daughter. Eleven hepatocellular carcinomas were recognized in the resected specimen. Donor blood was administered via the portal vein using a catheter inserted in the middle colic vein intra- and postoperatively. Mononuclear cells were obtained by operative liver biopsy or postoperative biopsy using fine needle aspiration biopsy, and from peripheral blood. They were analyzed by two or three color-flow cytometry using several antibodies. The differentiation between donor and recipient was estimated by means of anti-HLA antibodies of donor and recipient. The postoperative course was uneventful. She did not suffer from acute cellular rejection and was discharged on day 30 the after operation. CD56+ CD3+ T cells in the liver increased notably from 20% to 50% after transplantation. One half of the CD56+ CD3+ T cells in the liver graft were of the donor type (donor anti-HLA A2 antibody) on day 8 after surgery. Donor type CD56+ CD3+ T cells occupied 17.4% of the total CD56+ CD3+ T cells even on day 42 after the operation. Stimulation index by mixed lymphocyte reaction continued at a low level (< 2) from day 1 after the operation. Steroids were discontinued after 40 postoperative days. FK506 was also reduced to 0.5 mg/day 4 months after the operation. There was no recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatitis C virus for two years after the operation. Macrochimerism of donor type CD56+ CD3+ T cells in a graft might be induced by the transfer of donor blood via the portal vein and may play an important role in transplantation tolerance. Inoculation of donor blood via the portal vein may also be very useful for rapid reduction of immunosuppression.     

Acute graft versus host disease following living donor liver transplantation: first Korean report

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after liver transplantation is an uncommon fatal complication and no effective preventive or therapeutic measure is available. We report the first case of fatal GVHD after liver transplantation in Korea. A 51-year-old male underwent living donor liver transplantation for hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The donor was his 21-year-old son. The patient was discharged uneventfully. However, 56 days after transplantation, he was readmitted due to watery diarrhea, which was subsequently accom-panied by a skin rash and leukopenia. Diagnosis was made by skin biopsy and by donor DNA chimerism testing in recipient tissue. A one-way donor-recipient HLA match was identified by HLA typing for both donor and recipient. The patient was treated by increasing immunosuppression, but died of septic shock. A pretransplant HLA typing of both donor and recipient should be taken, and in cases of one-way donor-recipient HLA matching, liver transplantation should be avoided.     

The incidence of portal vein thrombosis at liver transplantation.

The incidence of portal vein thrombosis was examined in 885 patients who received orthotopic liver transplantations for various end-stage liver diseases between 1989 and 1990. The thrombosis was classified into four grades. Grade 1 was thrombosis of intrahepatic portal vein branches, grade 2 was thrombosis of the right or left portal branch or at the bifurcation, grade 3 was partial obstruction of the portal vein trunk, and grade 4 was complete obstruction of the portal vein trunk. Among the 849 patients without previous portosystemic shunt, 14 patients (1.6%) had grade 1, 27 patients (3.2%) had grade 2, 27 patients (3.2%) had grade 3 and 49 patients (5.8%) had grade 4 portal vein thrombosis. The incidence of portal vein thrombosis was highest (34.8%) in the patients with hepatic malignancy in the cirrhotic liver, followed by those with Budd-Chiari syndrome (22.2%) and postnecrotic cirrhosis of various causes (15.7%). The patients with encephalopathy, ascites, variceal bleeding, previous splenectomy and small liver had significantly higher incidences of portal vein thrombosis than the others. The total incidence of portal vein thrombosis among the 36 patients with previous portosystemic shunt was 38.9%, which was significantly higher than that (13.8%) of those without shunt.     

Tailored classification of portal vein thrombosis for liver transplantation: Focus on strategies for portal vein inflow reconstruction

Portal vein thrombosis(PVT) is currently not considered a contraindication for liver transplantation(LT), but diffuse or complicated PVT remains a major surgical challenge. Here, we review the prevalence, natural course and current grading systems of PVT and propose a tailored classification of PVT in the setting of LT. PVT in liver transplant recipients is classified into three types,corresponding to three portal reconstruction strategies: Anatomical, physiological and non-physiological. Type I PVT can be removed via low dissection of the portal vein(PV) or thrombectomy; porto-portal anastomosis is then performed with or without an interposed vascular graft. Physiological reconstruction used for type II PVT includes vascular interposition between mesenteric veins and PV,collateral-PV and splenic vein-PV anastomosis. Non-physiological reconstruction used for type III PVT includes cavoportal hemitransposition, renoportal anastomosis, portal vein arterialization and multivisceral transplantation. All portal reconstruction techniques were reviewed. This tailored classification system stratifies PVT patients by surgical complexity, risk of postoperative complications and long-term survival. We advocate using the tailored classification for PVT grading before LT, which will urge transplant surgeons to make a better preoperative planning and pay more attention to all potential strategies for portal reconstruction. Further verification in a large-sample cohort study is needed.     

Predictors of patient survival following living donor liver transplantation

BACKGROUND: Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is considered to be the alterative choice in light of the great shortage of cadaveric donors. However, the characteristics of the patients who will benefit from LDLT have not been well identified. The aim of this study was to define the pre- and intra-operative factors that may influence patient outcome. METHODS: The data from 102 LDLT patients who had operations between 2002 and 2009 were collected and analyzed retrospectively. Data were analyzed using ...     

Explant portal vein for reconstructing middle hepatic vein in right lobe living donor liver transplantation-outcome analysis

Background

The aim of the study was to study the four week patency rates of the reconstructed neo middle hepatic vein specifically using the explant portal vein (PV) in right hemiliver live donor liver transplantation (LDLT). We hypothesized that short term patency of the neo-MHV should result in good graft and patient outcomes.

ABO-incompatible living donor liver transplantation without graft local infusion and splenectomy

Background

Graft local infusion and splenectomy in ABO-incompatible (ABO-I) living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) are associated with high rates of operative complications.

Methods

Consecutive ABO-I LDLT patients treated at the National Cancer Centre between January 2012 and February 2013 were identified. The protocol for ABO-I LDLT at the study centre included the administration of rituximab (300 mg/m²) at 2 weeks preoperatively, followed by plasma exchanges (target isoagglutinin titre: ≤1 : 8), basiliximab (20 mg on the day of surgery and on postoperative day 4), and i.v. immunoglobulin (0.8 g/kg on postoperative days 1 and 4) without graft local infusion or splenectomy.

Results

Fifteen patients (11 men and four women) who underwent transplantation for liver cirrhosis (n = 3) or hepatocellular carcinoma (n = 12) were identified. These included 13 patients with hepatitis B virus infection, one with hepatitis C virus infection and one with alcoholic cirrhosis. The mean age, mean Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score and mean graft-to-recipient weight ratio (GRWR) of these patients was 51.8 years, 11.5 and 0.84, respectively. The median isoagglutinin titre before plasma exchange was 1 : 32 (range: 1 : 4 to 1 : 256). There were no hyperacute or antibody-mediated rejections. No bacterial or fungal infections were observed. Complications included herpes zoster viral infection in one patient, postoperative bleeding in one patient and extrahepatic biliary stricture in three patients.

Conclusions

This simplified ABO-I LDLT protocol showed good graft outcomes without immunologic failure or serious infections.