Usefulness of Hepatobiliary Scintigraphy for the Evaluation of Living Related Liver Transplant Recipients in the Early Postoperative Period

Abstract

Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the usefulness of hepatobiliary scintigraphy for the evaluation of liver grafts in the early postoperative period in patients receiving liver transplants from living related donors. Materials and Methods Fifty-six liver transplant recipients who received grafts from living related donors were included in the study. We examined the hepatobiliary scintigraphies of all patients, which were performed 7 to 10 days after the transplantation. The scintigraphic images were evaluated visually in terms of hepatic parenchymal function and biliary and vascular complications. Results In 44/56 recipients, hepatobiliary scintigraphy was completely normal in the early postoperative period. However, in 6/56 cases, scintigraphy was interpreted to show parenchymal dysfunction. In these patients, histopathologic confirmation by biopsies revealed four cases of hepatocellular damage/cholestasis, one acute rejection, and one cholangitis. In 3/56 patients, hepatobiliary scintigraphy demonstrated a hypoactive area in the liver graft; however, the other areas showed normal function. When the abdominal computed tomography (CT) and CT angiography were evaluated, these hypoactive areas were discovered to be related to minor vascular problems. In 3/56 liver graft recipients whose grafts showed normal parenchymal function scintigraphically, images were interpreted to indicate bile leak because accumulation of tracer was seen at an abnormal physiological site. Conclusion Hepatobiliary scintigraphy, which is a noninvasive and objective method, is useful to assess grafts in the early postoperative period among patients who received liver transplants from living related donors.