Hepatic Artery Reconstruction Using 3-in-1 Segmental Resection in Pediatric Living Donor Liver Transplantation: A Case Report and Literature Review

Abstract

We report a transplant of the left lateral liver segments with 3 arteries for a pediatric recipient from a living donor. A 6-month-old female infant was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis secondary to biliary atresia and scheduled for living donor liver transplantation (LDLT; mother as donor). Left lateral hepatectomy was performed at the donor site. The dissection of the left hepatic artery (HA), which was divided immediately after its origin, showed 3 branches for segments II, III, and IV. The arteries for segment II, segment III, and segment IV were anastomosed to the recipient HA. No postoperative complications were observed. The outcome of this case demonstrates that left lateral segments with 3 arteries can be successfully used if proper surgical techniques are applied. From this experience we can recommend “3-in-1 segmental resection” in the donor can be safely done by skilled microvascular surgeons and this technique should be considered for selected cases where multiple tiny arteries supply the graft.