Donor Complications Following Living Donor Hepatectomy: 17-Year Experience of a Single Team in One Institution of Japan.

Abstract

Donor safety is paramount in living donor liver transplantation. However, there remains a risk of postoperative complications for some donors. Here, we provide a comprehensive assessment of donor morbidity by a single team with 17 years of experience at a single center. We retrospectively reviewed 453 donor hepatectomies of living donor liver transplants at Kumamoto University from August 2000 to March 2017. Posterior segment graft cases were excluded in this study. The donors were classified by graft type as follows: right lobe (n = 173), left lobe (n = 149), and left lateral segment (n = 131). The overall complication rate was 29.8%, and the severe complication (Clavien-Dindo grade IIIa or higher) rate was 9.1%. The most frequent complication was bile leakage, with an overall incidence of 13.9% and severe incidence of 4.6%. Among the 3 types of graft, there were no significant differences in bile leakage with any Clavien-Dindo grade. However, upper gastrointestinal complications, such as a duodenal ulcer and gastric stasis, were related to left lobe donation. There were no significant differences in the incidence of postoperative donor complications, except upper gastrointestinal complications, among the 3 types of graft.