Venous hemodynamics in living donor right lobe liver transplantation

We evaluated the influence of portal and hepatic venous hemodynamics on the immediate and 3-month postoperative function of living donor right lobe grafts. Portal velocity was measured prospectively by ultrasound in 14 consecutive donor/recipient pairs. Velocity was converted to flow with the Moriyasu formula. Measurements were taken in donors in the operating room and in recipients at 1 hour after reperfusion and 3 months after transplant. Recipient liver function tests were measured postoperatively. Prereperfusion and postreperfusion liver biopsies were evaluated and correlated with the hemodynamic and biochemical results. There were 11 male (78.6%) and 3 female donors (mean age, 38.9 ± 9.8 years) for 10 male (71.4%) and 4 female recipients (mean age, 49.3 ± 14 years). The mean graft/recipient weight ratio was 1.22 ± 0.3. The mean right portal vein pressure was 8 ± 1.8 mm Hg in donors versus 13 ± 4.7 mm Hg in recipients (P < .05). The mean peak flow velocity (Vmax) in the portal vein in donors was 47.6 ± 12.8 cm/sec (normal, 44 cm/sec). One hour after graft reperfusion in the recipient, the mean portal Vmax was significantly higher at 94.7 ± 28.4 cm/sec (P = .004), but by 3 months follow-up, mean portal Vmax had fallen to 58.8 ± 37.8 (P = .01). Recipient portal vein Vmax highly correlated with portal flow (r = 0.7, P = .01). Increased recipient total bilirubin on postoperative day 2 correlated highly with higher recipient portal flow one hour after transplant (r = 0.6; P = .03). Portal vein velocity/flow dramatically increases after reperfusion, returning to baseline about 3 months after transplant. Evaluation of hepatic and portal venous flow is a relatively easy skill to acquire. Intraoperative ultrasound may enable the surgeon to predict graft dysfunction and possibly, may be used to implement pre-emptive therapies. (Liver Transpl 2002;8:809-813.)     

Adult living donor liver transplantation using the right lobe

BACKGROUND: This article reviewed our experience with right lobe donor hepatectomy in living donor liver transplantations (LDLT), particularly in the context of preserving donor safety. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2000 to August 2005, we performed 206 adult LDLT operations using the right lobe. The donor characteristics, operative findings, postoperative results including the peak values of liver enzymes (aspartate transferase [AST], alanine transferase [ALT], and bilirubin) and regeneration volumes, as evaluated by computed tomography volumetry, were reviewed at 1 week, as well as 3 and 6 months after surgery. The effects of three risk factors on donor safety were analyzed: age (<55 years, > or =55 years): fatty change in the donor liver (<10%, > or =10%); and remnant volume (<35%, > or =35%). RESULTS: The liver enzymes and regeneration volumes showed no significant difference according to age, only ALT was significant increased associated with the severity of fatty change (P < .05). There were significant differences in postoperative AST, ALT, and regeneration volume between the group with <35% and the group with > or =35% remnant liver volume (P < .05). Upon further analysis with combinations of two out of three risk factors, the group according to remnant volume and fatty change was meaningful. Follow-up data on donor ALT showed a return normal levels and after postoperative 3 months there was regeneration of the remnant liver to more than 70% of the whole liver preoperatively. There was no donor mortality, but postoperative complications were observed in 39 patients (39/206, 18.9%). Biliary complications were encountered in 24 patients: one bile duct injury, 22 bile leakages, and one bile duct stricture. Other complications consisted of pleural effusion (n = 8), delayed gastric emptying (n = 6), atelectasis (n = 1), and hepatic encephalopathy (n = 1). CONCLUSION: In cases of careful donor selection, a right lobectomy can be performed safely with minimal risks when the remnant liver volume exceeds 35% of the total liver volume and shows less than 10% fatty changes.     

成人活体肝移植的早期经验

目的 总结成人活体肝移植的早期经验,提高活体肝移植效果.方法 回顾性分析解放军总医院肝移植中心2006年6月至2008年2月31例成人活体肝移植资料.结果 31例中慢性乙型肝炎肝硬化失代偿期8例,急性肝功能衰竭7例,肝细胞肝癌12例,肝脏紫癜病2例,肝门部胆管癌1例和Wilson 病1例.含肝中静脉(middle hepatic vein,MHV)的右半肝移植25例,不含MHV的右半肝移植3例,双供肝为含MHV的右半肝+左外叶和含MHV的右半肝+左半肝各1例,左半肝辅助性原位肝移植1例.33例供者中5例发生并发症6例次.9例受者发生并发症11例次,其中胆道并发症4例,血管并发症3例,感染性并发症3例,切口延迟愈合1例.2例肺部感染和1例全身多处曲霉菌感染者死亡.结论 活体肝移植已成为拓展供肝来源的有效途径,合理的供、受者评估,手术方式和术后处理是关键.     

Adult living donor liver transplantation: living donation of the right liver lobe

Background Adult living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has become a routine treatment option for patients waiting for liver transplantation. In European and North American countries, LDLT for adult recipients is mainly performed with right lobe grafts. Indications, when compared to deceased donor liver transplantation, are controversial. Materials and methods In our institution, patients suffering from hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhosis, non-resectable hilar cholangiocarcinoma, viral hepatitis associated cirrhosis, as well as cholestatic liver and biliary disease are considered good candidates for LDLT. Results In this overview, donor evaluation, graft selection, and the donor operation with special regard to operative techniques and strategies are discussed. For visualization, a 5-min video sequence of the standard donor operation as performed in our institution is attached. Conclusion Given the ongoing shortage of donor organs, adult LDLT has become a routine treatment option for patients waiting for liver transplantation. The associated inevitable risk for the healthy donor, however, remains ethically controversial. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

活体右半肝供体的安全性

目的 探讨活体右半肝供体的安全性。方法 对2002年1月至2005年6月施行的13例活体右半肝移植中供体的资料进行回顾性研究。不阻断入肝血流,在肝中静脉右侧,用超声刀离断肝组织得到右半供肝。通过计算得到标准肝体积及残余左半肝的比例。结果 右半供肝切取术平均失血490ml,平均输血440ml。围手术期平均输入人血白蛋白85g。1例供体门静脉分为3支,2例供体右后与右前胆管汇入左肝管,1例左外与左内胆管先后与右肝管汇合成肝总管,术中处理恰当,门静脉左干血流及左肝管胆汁引流保持通畅。2例供肝轻度脂肪变。术后第1天肝功能均有不同程度损害,但术后1周恢复到接近正常水平。术后并发症包括1例腹腔内出血,2例切口脂肪液化和1例乳糜漏。所有供体恢复好并回到原工作岗位。结论 只要保证左半肝血管与胆管通畅,残余肝体积在30％以上及手术对残余肝无大的损伤,右半供肝切取是安全的。     

Donor outcomes in right lobe adult living donor liver transplantation: single-center experience in Egypt

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is an alternative source of organs for patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD) in absence of deceased donor LT. In LDLT the greatest concern is donor safety. Our objective was to evaluate the outcome of donors after right lobe liver donation in a single LT center in Egypt. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty LDL resections were performed from 2001 to 2004. The mean donor age was 29.2 +/- 6.4 years. Residual liver volume was 41.1 +/- 4.5%. Mean operative time was 560 +/- 62.2 minutes; mean ICU stay, less than 24 hours; mean hospital stay, 15.4 +/- 7.7 days; and mean follow-up period, 6 months. RESULTS: There was no mortality. The overall complication rate was 68% (34 donors). Major complications included intraoperative bleeding in one, biliary leak in two, and pneumonia in three donors. Minor complications included mild pleural effusion in 13 donors, transient ascites in 10, mild depression in 7, intra-abdominal collections in 3, and wound infections in 1 donor. Residual liver volume did not affect the complication rate. None required reoperation. Return to predonation activity occurred within 6 to 8 weeks. No liver impairment occurred during follow-up. CONCLUSION: Right lobe adult LDLT is a safe procedure with regard to donor outcome. Major complications occurred in only 10% of our series.     

Safety of donor in adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation using right lobe graft

BACKGROUND: The growing gap between the number of patients awaiting liver transplantation and available organs has continued to be the primary issue facing the transplant community. To overcome the waiting list mortality, living donor liver transplantation has become an option, in which the greatest concern is the safety of the donor, especially in adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation (A-A LDLT) using a right lobe liver graft. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the safety of donors after right lobe liver donation for A-A LDLT performed in our center. METHODS: From January 2002 to March 2006, 26 patients underwent A-A LDLT using right lobe liver grafts in our center. Seven donors were men and 19 were women (range, 19-65 years; median age, 38 years). The right lobe liver grafts were obtained by transecting the liver on the right side of the middle hepatic vein without interrupting the vascular blood flow. The mean follow-up time for these donors was 9 months. RESULTS: These donor residual liver volumes ranged from 30.5% to 60.3%. We did not experience any donor mortality. Two cases (7.69%) experienced major complications: intra-abdominal bleeding and portal vein thrombosis in one each and three (11.54%), minor ones: wound steatosis in two, and transient chyle leak in one. All donors were fully recovered and returned to their previous occupations. CONCLUSIONS: A-A LDLT using a right lobe liver graft has become a standard option. The donation of right lobe liver for A-A LDLT was a relatively safe procedure in our center.     

成人间右半肝活体肝移植的肝动脉重建

Objective To summarize our experience in hepatic artery reconstruction in adult-to-adult right lobe living donor liver transplantation(LDLT).Methods A retrospective analysis was made for 17 cases undergoing LDLT in our center from May 2007 to Oct 2008.Results All the 17 right lobe graft of the liver was supplied by single right hepatic artery and the mean diameter of right hepatic artery was 3.1 mm.The hepatic artery for segment 4 was mainly originated from left hepatic artery(12/17,70.1%).The recipient right or left hepatic artery was used in 14 cases of reconstruction,proper hepatic artery was used in 2 cases,and gastroduodenal artery was used in one case.Anastomosis was performed with interrupted 8-0 prolene and 12-16 stitches were made on the posterior wall first and then the anterior wall to avoid turning over the vessel.The mean anastomosis time was(51±26) minutes and all hepatic arteries were patent immediately after anastomosis.Hepatic arterial complications including hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT)did not occur after LDLT.Conclusions Detailed evaluation and careful protection of the hepatic artery of segment 4 are the key to successful reconstruction of hepatic artery in LDLT.Anastomosis was performed without flipping the artery wall helped to reduce the difficulty of operation remarkably and with a good result.     

Adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation using extended right lobe grafts.

OBJECTIVE: The authors report their experience with living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) using extended right lobe grafts for adult patients under high-urgency situations. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: The efficacy of LDLT in the treatment of children has been established. The major limitation of adult-to-adult LDLT is the adequacy of the graft size. A left lobe graft from a relatively small volunteer donor will not meet the metabolic demand of a larger recipient. METHODS: From May 1996 to November 1996, seven LDLTs, using extended right lobe grafts, were performed under high-urgency situations. All recipients were in intensive care units before transplantation with five having acute renal failure, three on mechanical ventilation, and all with hepatic encephalopathy. The median body weight for the donors and recipients was 58 kg (range, 41-84 kg) and 65 kg (range, 53-90 kg), respectively. The body weights of four donors were less than those of the corresponding recipients, and the lowest donor-to-recipient body weight ratio was 0.62:1. The extended right lobe graft was chosen because the left lobe volume was <40% of the ideal liver mass of the recipient. RESULTS: Median blood loss for the donors was 900 mL (range, 700-1600 mL) and hospital stay was 19 days (range, 8-22 days). Homologous blood transfusion was not required. Two donors had complications (one incisional hernia and one bile duct stricture) requiring reoperation after discharge. All were well with normal liver function 5 to 10 months after surgery. The graft weight ranged from 490 g to 1140 g. All grafts showed immediate function with normalization of prothrombin time and recovery of conscious state of the recipients. There was no vascular complication, but six recipients required reoperation. One recipient died of systemic candidiasis 16 days after transplantation and 6 (86%) were alive with the original graft at a median follow-up of 6.5 months (range, 5-10 months). CONCLUSIONS: When performed by a team with experience in hepatectomy and transplantation, LDLT, using an extended right lobe graft, can achieve superior results. The technique extends the success of LDLT from pediatric recipients to adult recipients and opens a new donor pool for adults to receive a timely graft of adequate function.     

Impact of biliary complications in right lobe living donor liver transplantation

Biliary reconstruction is one of the most challenging parts of right lobe living donor liver transplantation (RL LDLT), and biliary complications have been reported as the first source of surgical complications of this procedure. We reviewed biliary reconstruction and complications in 27 consecutive RL LDLTs. We compared the first 14 procedures (group 1) to the last 13 (group 2). Seven patients (25.9%) experienced a biliary complication (five leaks and two strictures). The incidence of biliary complications was 11.1% in RL grafts with a single duct and 55.5% in graft presenting multiple bile ducts (P = 0.03). Four of the 18 patients with a duct-to-duct reconstruction (22.2%) and three of the 11 patients with a Roux-en-Y reconstruction (27.3%) developed a biliary complication (P = ns). The incidence of biliary complications significantly decreased from 42.9% (n = 6) in the first group to 7.6% (n = 1) in the second group (P = 0.05). The overall 1-year graft and patient survival were 57.1% and 64.3% in group 1 versus 100.0% and 100% in group 2 (P = 0.01; P = 0.006). Biliary complications remain one of the most important technical complications affecting RL LDLT. Nevertheless, attention and surgical refinement can lead to a significant reduction of the biliary complication rate, improving graft and patient survival.     

成人间右半肝活体肝移植的肝动脉重建

目的 探讨成人间右半肝活体肝移植的肝动脉重建的相关问题.方法 我院移植中心2007年5月至2008年10月,共完成17例成人活体右半肝肝移植,结合此组病例的临床资料,就肝动脉重建的术前评估、手术技巧和并发症防治进行回顾性分析.结果 17例右半肝供体均为单一肝右动脉供血,动脉平均直径3.1 mm,S4段主要由左肝动脉供血有12例(12/17,70.1%),由肝右动脉供血4例(4/17,23.5%),肝右和肝左动脉均发出动脉分支供血的1例.利用胆囊动脉扩大供肝肝右动脉吻合口径2例.供肝肝右动脉与受体肝右动脉吻合10例(10/17,60%),与受体肝左动脉吻合4例,与受体肝固有动脉吻合2例.吻合方式均为间断吻合,先吻合动脉后壁再吻合前壁,缝合针数12～16针.均为一次吻合成功,平均吻合时间(51±26)min,术后未出现肝动脉相关并发症.结论 对供肝S4段肝动脉的详细评估和保护是活体肝移植肝动脉重建的重点,不翻转供受体动脉的吻合方法可以有效降低手术难度,减少动脉并发症的发生.     

成人间右半肝活体肝移植的肝动脉重建

Objective To summarize our experience in hepatic artery reconstruction in adult-to-adult right lobe living donor liver transplantation(LDLT).Methods A retrospective analysis was made for 17 cases undergoing LDLT in our center from May 2007 to Oct 2008.Results All the 17 right lobe graft of the liver was supplied by single right hepatic artery and the mean diameter of right hepatic artery was 3.1 mm.The hepatic artery for segment 4 was mainly originated from left hepatic artery(12/17,70.1%).The recipient right or left hepatic artery was used in 14 cases of reconstruction,proper hepatic artery was used in 2 cases,and gastroduodenal artery was used in one case.Anastomosis was performed with interrupted 8-0 prolene and 12-16 stitches were made on the posterior wall first and then the anterior wall to avoid turning over the vessel.The mean anastomosis time was(51±26) minutes and all hepatic arteries were patent immediately after anastomosis.Hepatic arterial complications including hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT)did not occur after LDLT.Conclusions Detailed evaluation and careful protection of the hepatic artery of segment 4 are the key to successful reconstruction of hepatic artery in LDLT.Anastomosis was performed without flipping the artery wall helped to reduce the difficulty of operation remarkably and with a good result.     

急诊右半肝活体肝移植治疗急性肝衰竭

目的 探讨急诊右半肝活体肝移植（living donor liver transplantation,LDLT）治疗急性肝衰竭（acute liver failure,ALF）的价值。方法 同顾性分析我院自2006年11月至2007年2月6例接受急诊LDLT的ALF患者临床资料,评价转归和疗效。结果 全部供体术后均未发生严重并发症或死亡,3周后恢复日常生活。全部受体均接受不含肝中静脉的右半肝,手术顺利,术后48h内苏醒,未发生神经系统并发症。与术前水平相比,血氨术后第1天明显下降至（53.3±21.6）μmol/L （P〈0.05）;总胆红素（TB）术后第1天即可恢复至（212±130）μmol/L（P〈0.05）,以后呈继续下降趋势;凝血酶原时间（PT）术后1周内即可降至正常水平（13±1）s（P〈0.05）;国际标准化比值（INR）变化与PT类似;丙氨酸转氨酶（ALT）和天冬氨酸转氨酶（AST）术后1周内持续下降,至术后第7天降至较低水平。1例患者术后第10天发生急性排斥反应经激素冲击疗法治愈,其余5例均未发生严重并发症。全组受体均于术后1月内康复出院。结论 急诊右半肝LDLT能有效治疗ALF。     

Adult living donor liver transplantation with right lobe graft: the venous outflow management in the Milan-Niguarda experience

In right lobe living donor liver transplantation (ALDLT), reconstruction of middle hepatic vein (MHV) tributaries is often necessary to avoid severe graft congestion. From March 2001, we performed 36 right lobe ALDLT (segments 5, 6, 7, and 8) without MHV and one pediatric transplant (segments 2 and 3). In the presence of MHV tributaries larger than 5 mm, we intraoperatively evaluated the need for reconstruction. At a mean follow-up of 848 days (range=8-2412), 33/37 transplanted patients are alive with overall patient and graft survivals of 89.2% and 83.8%, respectively. Large MHV tributaries (>5 mm) were present in 10 cases, and inferior right hepatic veins (IRHV) draining segment 6 in 11 cases. In 10 cases, we performed an end-to-side anastomosis between the IRHV and the side of the recipient vena cava. In three cases, the MHV tributaries were end-to-end anastomosed to the stump of the recipient MHV. In all other cases, the vein tributaries were not reconstructed. A computed tomography scan performed from 1 to 3 months after surgery did not show any congested area in the liver parenchyma. In our experience, reconstruction of the MHV tributaries was not always necessary when graft-to-recipient weight ratio is >0.8. Pre- and intraoperative evaluation of the segmental branches of the hepatic vein is crucial to decide about reconstructing these collaterals. Anastomosis of V5 or V8 to the stump of the recipient MHV reduces the number of vascular anastomosis and maintains a physiological angle between these collaterals and the caval vein.