Letters To The Editor
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World J Gastrointest Surg. Jul 27, 2011; 3(7): 110-102
Published online Jul 27, 2011. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v3.i7.110
Hepatic flow optimization in full right split liver transplantation
Stefano Di Domenico, Enzo Andorno, Giovanni Varotti, Umberto Valente
Stefano Di Domenico, Enzo Andorno, Giovanni Varotti, Umberto Valente, Department of General Surgery and Organ Transplantation, San Martino University Hospital, Largo R. Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy
Author contributions: Di Domenico S performed the splitting procedure, the back table surgery, the ultrasound assessment, the portal flow modulation and wrote the article; Andorno E performed the liver transplantation, the back table surgery and the portal flow modulation; Varotti G wrote the article; Valente U revised the article.
Correspondence to: Stefano Di Domenico, MD, PhD, Department of General Surgery and Organ Transplantation, San Martino University Hospital, Largo R. Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy. didomenico.stefano@gmail.com
Telephone: +39-10-5553108 Fax: +39-10-503965
Received: January 21, 2011
Revised: June 25, 2011
Accepted: July 4, 2011
Published online: July 27, 2011
Abstract

Split liver transplantation for two adults offers a valuable opportunity to expand the donor pool for adult recipients. However, its application is mainly hampered by the physiological limits of these partial grafts. Small for size syndrome is a major concern during transplantation with partial graft and different techniques have been developed in living donor liver transplantation to prevent the graft dysfunction. Herein, we report the first application of synergic approaches to optimise the hepatic hemodynamic in a split liver graft for two adults. A Caucasian woman underwent liver transplantation for alcoholic cirrhosis (MELD 21) with a full right liver graft (S5-S8) without middle hepatic vein. Minor and accessory inferior hepatic veins were preserved by splitting the vena cava; V5 and V8 were anastomosed with a donor venous iliac patch. After implantation, a 16G catheter was advanced in the main portal trunk. Inflow modulation was achieved by splenic artery ligation. Intraportal infusion of PGE1 was started intraoperatively and discontinued after 5 d. Graft function was immediate with normalization of liver test after 7 d. Nineteen months after transplantation, liver function is normal and graft volume is 110% of the recipient standard liver volume. Optimisation of the venous outflow, inflow modulation and intraportal infusion of PGE1 may represent a valuable synergic strategy to prevent the graft dysfunction and it may increase the safety of split liver graft for two adults.

Keywords: Transplantation, Split liver, Portal flow, Ultrasound, Prostaglandin