Selection of living donor liver grafts for patients weighing 6kg or less.

Abstract

In the field of pediatric living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), physicians sometimes must reduce the volume of left lateral segment (LLS) grafts to prevent large-for-size syndrome. There are 2 established methods for decreasing the size of an LLS graft: the use of a segment 2 (S2) monosegment graft and the use of a reduced LLS graft. However, no procedure for selecting the proper graft type has been established. In this study, we conducted a retrospective investigation of LDLT and examined the strategy of graft selection for patients weighing ≤6 kg. LDLT was conducted 225 times between May 2001 and December 2012, and 15 of the procedures were performed in patients weighing ≤6 kg. We selected S2 monosegment grafts and reduced LLS grafts if the preoperative computed tomography (CT)-volumetry value of the LLS graft was >5% and 4% to 5% of the graft/recipient weight ratio, respectively. We used LLS grafts in 7 recipients, S2 monosegment grafts in 4 recipients, reduced S2 monosegment grafts in 3 recipients, and a reduced LLS graft in 1 recipient. The reduction rate of S2 monosegment grafts for use as LLS grafts was 48.3%. The overall recipient and graft survival rates were both 93.3%, and 1 patient died of a brain hemorrhage. Major surgical complications included hepatic artery thrombosis in 2 recipients, bilioenteric anastomotic strictures in 2 recipients, and portal vein thrombosis in 1 recipient. In conclusion, our graft selection strategy based on preoperative CT-volumetry is highly useful in patients weighing ≤6 kg. S2 monosegment grafts are effective and safe in very small infants particularly neonates.