Outflow reconstruction in recipients of right liver graft from living donors.

Abstract

Right-lobe transplantation is now a commonly used procedure in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) to adult recipients. However, the risk for outflow obstruction is still an issue in LDLT. The right hepatic vein (RHV) was anastomosed end to end to the graft hepatic vein without unfavorable tension on the anastomosis. The anterior wall of the recipient hepatic vein was incised longitudinally, and a V-shaped vein graft was patched to form a wide and long orifice. This new hepatic venoplasty was used in 14 adult patients who received right liver grafts and gave good results without stenosis of the hepatic venous anastomosis or other complications. Our new technique may be useful in recipients of a right liver graft when the recipient or graft RHV is not long enough.