Technical developments in liver transplantation

Living donor liver transplantation

The introduction of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has been one of the most remarkable steps in the field of liver transplantation (LT). First introduced for children in 1989, its adoption for adults has followed only 10 years later. As the demand for LT continues to increase, LDLT provides life-saving therapy for many patients who would otherwise die awaiting a cadaveric organ. In recent years, LDLT has been shown to be a clinically safe addition to deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) and has been able to significantly extend the scarce donor pool. As long as the donor shortage continues to increase, LDLT will play an important role in the future of LT.

Liver transplantation: newer surgical approaches

The standard procedure for orthotopic liver transplantation remains transplantation of the whole organ together with resection of the vena cava and the use of venovenous bypass. In cases of severe mismatch of the donor and recipient vena cava, the piggyback technique, if necessary with vena cava plasty, is preferable. Furthermore, in all cases where venovenous bypass cannot be performed, the piggyback or other technique preserving the vena cava should be performed. In paediatric patients, reduced/size liver transplantation may be indicated because of the shortage of small livers. In the hands of experienced surgeons, the results of reduced-size liver transplantation in paediatric patients are similar to those of whole organ transplantation. Further innovative procedures to overcome the problem of organ shortage include split-liver and living related transplantation in children. Distinct advantages of living related transplantation can be seen in a well-functioning graft, lack of preservation injury, elective operation and optimal graft-size matching. The immunological advantage that has been claimed could not be demonstrated so far, and will need to be examined in the long-term follow-up. However, there remains a distinct disadvantage for living related transplantation with regard to the surgical technique. Preoperative portal venous thrombosis should be carefully assessed, but is not a contraindication to liver transplantation if the confluence of the superior mesenteric vein and splenic vein is patent. Arterial reconstruction at the confluence of two arteries (hepatic and gastroduodenal or splenic artery) seems to be preferable to an end-to-end anastomosis because of improved inflow into the graft and a reduced risk of arterial stenosis and thrombosis. Where the common hepatic arteries are small, with reduced or reversed flow, and in patients with coeliac trunk stenosis, we recommend a direct approach to the suprarenal or infrarenal aorta. Bile duct anastomosis may preferably be performed with a side-to-side technique, to reduce early and late biliary complications.