Perioperative Experience Research Articles

Catheter burden following urogynecologic surgery

Data on the experience that women who undergo urogynecologic surgery have with postoperative catheterization are severely limited. As the importance of our patients' perioperative experience becomes more valued, assessment of the burden of postoperative catheterization, which has not yet been performed, is increasingly needed. The aim of this study was to compare catheter burden in women who self-selected use of an indwelling Foley catheter vs clean intermittent self-catheterization for voiding dysfunction after reconstructive pelvic surgery. This is a nested study within a nonblinded randomized controlled trial of 2 different voiding trial protocols that was conducted from March to October 2017. Women who underwent pelvic organ prolapse and/or stress urinary incontinence surgery who were English speaking and ≥18 years old with a preoperative postvoid residual <100 mL were included. Participants who did not pass their voiding trial were discharged with an indwelling Foley catheter or self-catheterization per participant preference. Our primary outcome was catheter burden at 1 week after surgery assessed by the Short-Term Catheter Burden Questionnaire, which is a validated 6-item survey comprised of 2 subscales: difficulty of use and embarrassment. Scores range from 3-15 withhigher scores indicating greater difficulty and/or embarrassment, and the sum of the 2 subscale scores measures total catheter burden with a higher score indicating greater burden. Secondary outcomes included the rate of urinary tract infection, the number of postoperative clinic visits, and the number of postoperative phone calls. Of 150 participants, 77 women (51%) did not pass their voiding trial; of those, 47 women (61%) were discharged home with an indwelling catheter and 30 women (39%) with self-catheterization. Baseline demographics were similar, except that women who chose an indwelling Foley catheter were older (62±11 vs 55±11 years; P<.01). There were no significant differences between indwelling Foley catheter and self-catheterization in total catheter burden score (18±5 vs 18±6; P=.77), difficulty of use subscale score (8±3 vs 9±3; P=.20), or embarrassment subscale score (10±4 vs 9±4; P=.12). For secondary outcomes, there were no significant differences in rate of urinary tract infection (23% indwelling vs 30% self-catheterization; P=.60). Consistent with study protocol, women who were discharged with an indwelling Foley catheter did have more postoperative clinic visits (2±1 vs 1±1 visits; P<.01), and those women who were discharged with self-catheterization had more postoperative phone calls (2±3 vs 5±3 phone calls; P<.01). Otherwise there was no significant difference in nonvoiding-related clinic visits (1±1 visits for indwelling and self-catheterization; P=.15) or postoperative phone calls (1±2 indwelling vs 2±3 self-catheterization calls; P=.31). In women who used either an indwelling Foley catheter or clean intermittent self-catheterization for management of postoperative voiding dysfunction after pelvic reconstructive surgery, there were no differences in difficulty of use, embarrassment, or overall catheter burden. There were also no differences in nonvoiding-related postoperative phone calls or clinic visits, with similar rates of urinary tract infection between the 2 groups.

Children's Use of and Experiences With a Web-Based Perioperative Preparation Program: Directed Content Analysis.

BackgroundWeb-based technology is useful as an alternative means of providing preparation programs to children in pediatric care. To take full advantage of Web-based technology, there is a need to understand how children use and learn from such programs.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to analyze children’s use of and experiences with a Web-based perioperative preparation program in relation to an educational framework of children’s learning.MethodsThis study is the final part of a three-phase study in which all families with children aged 3 to 16 years (N=32) admitted for outpatient surgery over 1 week were asked to participate. Children were interviewed before (phase 1) and after (phase 2) anesthesia and surgery and 1 month after hospitalization (phase 3). The data in this study (phase 3) relate to six children (5 to 13 years) who participated in the follow-up interviews in their homes a month after hospitalization. The study used a directed qualitative interpretative approach. The interviews were conducted in a semistructured manner as the children—without guidance or influence from the interviewer—visited and navigated the actual website. The data were analyzed based on a combination of the transcribed interviews and field notes, and were subjected to a previous theoretical investigation based on children’s learning on a website in pediatric care.ResultsSix children, five boys (5-12 years) and one girl (13 years), participated in the follow-up study in their homes a month after hospitalization. The children were selected from the 22 initially interviewed (in phases 1 and 2) to represent a variation of ages and perioperative experiences. The children’s use of and experiences with the website could be explained by the predetermined educational themes (in charge of my learning, discover and play, recognize and identify, and getting feedback), but additional aspects associated with children’s need for identification, recognition, and feedback were also revealed. The children used the website to get feedback on their own experiences and to interact with and learn from other children.ConclusionsThis analysis of children’s use of and experiences with a Web-based preparation program emphasizes the importance of including a theoretical educational framework of children’s learning in the development and design of websites in pediatric care. Creating opportunities for Web-based communication with others facing similar experiences and possibilities for receiving feedback from adults are important factors for future consideration.

Enhanced Recovery Pathways for Cardiac Surgery.

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) has become a widespread topic in perioperative medicine over the past 20years. The goals of ERAS are to improve patient outcomes and perioperative experience, reduce length of hospital stay, minimize complications, and reduce cost. Interventions and factors before, during, and after surgery all potentially play a role with the cumulative effect being superior quality of patient care. Preoperatively, patient and family education, optimization of nutritional status, and antibiotic prophylaxis all improve outcomes. Recovery is also expedited by the use of multimodal analgesia, regional anesthesia, and opioid reducing approaches. Intraoperatively, the anesthesiologist can have an impact by using less-invasive monitors appropriately to guide fluid and hemodynamic management as well as maintaining normothermia. Postoperatively, early enteral feeding, mobilization, and removal of invasive lines support patient recovery. Implementation of ERAS protocol in cardiac surgery faces challenges by some unique perioperative perspectives in cardiac surgery, such as systemic anticoagulation, use of cardiopulmonary bypass, significantly more hemodynamic variations, larger volume replacement, postoperative intubation and mechanical ventilation and associated sedation, and potentially significantly more co-existing morbidities than other surgical procedures. ERAS in cardiac surgery may benefit patients more related to its high risk and high cost nature. This manuscript specifically reviews the unique aspects of enhanced recovery in cardiac surgery.

Patients and informal caregivers' experience of surgical and transcatheter aortic valve replacement: Real-world data contributing to establish value-based medicine in Denmark.

BackgroundThe concept of value‐based medicine (VBM) is increasingly implemented in therapeutic decision‐making processes, but only few data on patient‐perceived values are available in the field of aortic stenosis treatment.HypothesisThis study aimed to deliver data on patient‐perceived values and health‐related quality of life (HR‐QoL) following surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in a real‐world, all‐comers patient population.MethodsQuestionnaires were sent to 637 patients who had undergone elective AVR 12 to 24 months earlier in the period September 2015 to August 2016. The questionnaires were specifically designed to assess physical and mental impact of the entire AVR process on patients and their nearest relative and to capture HR‐QoL.ResultsQuestionnaires were completed by 429 patients (SAVR: N = 265; TAVR: N = 164). Both physical and mental impact of the intervention and its recovery period were experienced more stressful by SAVR as compared with TAVR patients. Also, nearest relatives of SAVR patients experienced the entire process mentally more stressful and enduring than relatives of TAVR patients. In both groups, 10% of patients reported no change in HR‐QoL, whereas HR‐QoL improved in 76% vs 83% (P = 0.092) and worsened in 14% vs 7% (P = 0.040) of the SAVR and TAVR populations, respectively.ConclusionThe perioperative experience tends to be more stressful for SAVR as compared with TAVR patients; however, HR‐QoL finally improves to a similar degree in both groups. Given the increasing importance of VBM, patient‐perceived values will have to be considered in future decision‐making processes, both at individual and public policy‐making level.

Opioid Use in the Postoperative Arena: Global Reduction in Opioids After Surgery Through Enhanced Recovery and Gynecologic Surgery.

Enhanced recovery programs aim to reduce surgical stress to improve the patient perioperative experience. Through a combination of multimodal analgesia and maintaining a physiological state, postoperative recovery is improved. Many analgesic adjuncts are available that improve postoperative pain control and limit opioid analgesia requirements. Adjuncts are often used in combination, but different interventions may be incorporated for patient-specific and procedure-specific needs. Postoperative pain control can be optimized by continuing nonopioid adjuncts, and prescribing opioid analgesia to address breakthrough pain. Prescribing practices should balance optimizing pain relief, minimizing the risk of chronic pain, while limiting the potential for opioid misuse.

Impact of hypnosis on patient experience after venous access port implantation

IntroductionHypnosis has been reported to decrease pain and anxiety in surgical context, but data studying its impact on patient experience using a validated scale are scarce. In the present study, we assessed the effect of an audio hypnosis session on patient satisfaction during venous access port implantation under local anaesthesia in adult cancer patients using the EVAN-LR Score. MethodsAfter informed consent, patients were randomised to receive either hypnosis or standard care. The hypnosis group listened to a 26 minutes recorded audio hypnosis session through the ongoing implantation procedure.The primary outcome was the result of the EVAN-LR questionnaire, assessing perioperative experience in patients undergoing anaesthesia without loss of consciousness. This score describes a global index and 5 dimensions of experience: comfort, pain attention, information and waiting. It is scaled from 0 to 100 with 100 indicating the best possible level of satisfaction. Secondary outcomes included patient's anxiety, heart rate before and after procedure, procedure duration and several Visual Analogic Scale to match EVAN-LR dimensions. ResultsOverall, 148 patients were enrolled in the study. The global index of Evan-LR was significantly higher in the hypnosis session group (78 ± 14) compared to the standard care group (71 ± 17) (P = 0.006). No difference was reported in secondary outcomes. ConclusionA recorded audio hypnosis session during subcutaneous venous port implantation under local anaesthesia in cancer patients significantly improved patient satisfaction.

Evaluating patient preparedness for cataract surgery and satisfaction with preoperative care

ObjectiveTo evaluate preoperative preparedness and patient satisfaction after implementation of the Cataract Screening Preprocedural Questionnaire (CSPQ) at Hamilton Regional Eye Institute. DesignSingle-centred, prospective, cross-sectional study. Participants/MethodsOne-hundred fifty-one adult patients undergoing elective cataract surgery completed the CSPQ questionnaire. Based on the responses, patients were triaged to the preoperative anaesthesia clinic or booked directly for surgery. Outcome measures included anxiety level, delays or cancellations in surgery, preoperative blood pressure, glucose levels, and satisfaction with the quality of preoperative instructions provided. Results were compared between patients who attended and those who bypassed the preoperative anaesthesia clinic. ResultsOf the study population, 87 patients were female (57.6%) and the mean age was 72.0 ± 10.5 years. Only 11 patients (7.43%) were referred for preoperative consultation. Patients reported receiving preoperative instructions via handouts (94%) and verbally in combination with handouts (59.33%). Patients felt that adequate information was provided regarding preoperative medications (96.69%), eye drops (99.34%), fasting guidelines (98.68%), arrival time (99.34%), and instructions for accompaniment/drivers postoperatively (100%). All patients were compliant with the fasting guidelines. Patient satisfaction with the information received regarding cataract surgery and anaesthesia were 4.39 ± 0.88 and 3.80 ± 0.95, respectively. There was no difference in the anxiety level between patients who attended and those who bypassed the preoperative clinic (4.09 ± 2.92 and 5.18 ± 2.57, p = 0.14). There were no cancellations, delays, or immediate postoperative systemic complications. ConclusionsThe CSPQ model can be effectively used to streamline the preoperative preparation of patients for cataract surgery while maintaining a high degree of patient satisfaction with the perioperative experience.

Remote Surveillance Technologies: Realizing the Aim of Right Patient, Right Data, Right Time.

The convergence of multiple recent developments in health care information technology and monitoring devices has made possible the creation of remote patient surveillance systems that increase the timeliness and quality of patient care. More convenient, less invasive monitoring devices, including patches, wearables, and biosensors, now allow for continuous physiological data to be gleaned from patients in a variety of care settings across the perioperative experience. These data can be bound into a single data repository, creating so-called data lakes. The high volume and diversity of data in these repositories must be processed into standard formats that can be queried in real time. These data can then be used by sophisticated prediction algorithms currently under development, enabling the early recognition of patterns of clinical deterioration otherwise undetectable to humans. Improved predictions can reduce alarm fatigue. In addition, data are now automatically queriable on a real-time basis such that they can be fed back to clinicians in a time frame that allows for meaningful intervention. These advancements are key components of successful remote surveillance systems. Anesthesiologists have the opportunity to be at the forefront of remote surveillance in the care they provide in the operating room, postanesthesia care unit, and intensive care unit, while also expanding their scope to include high-risk preoperative and postoperative patients on the general care wards. These systems hold the promise of enabling anesthesiologists to detect and intervene upon changes in the clinical status of the patient before adverse events have occurred. Importantly, however, significant barriers still exist to the effective deployment of these technologies and their study in impacting patient outcomes. Studies demonstrating the impact of remote surveillance on patient outcomes are limited. Critical to the impact of the technology are strategies of implementation, including who should receive and respond to alerts and how they should respond. Moreover, the lack of cost-effectiveness data and the uncertainty of whether clinical activities surrounding these technologies will be financially reimbursed remain significant challenges to future scale and sustainability. This narrative review will discuss the evolving technical components of remote surveillance systems, the clinical use cases relevant to the anesthesiologist’s practice, the existing evidence for their impact on patients, the barriers that exist to their effective implementation and study, and important considerations regarding sustainability and cost-effectiveness.

The perioperative patient experience of hand and wrist surgical patients: An exploratory study using patient journey mapping

Patient-centred care is becoming more important in healthcare. The success of patient-centred care can be assessed by exploring the patient experience through a patient journey map. As the number of outpatient surgeries is increasing, it is important to reveal the specific characteristics of this type of surgery. The perioperative patient experience is considered very important for outpatient surgery, because all perioperative activities are condensed in one day. To investigate this experience, we performed a case study of hand and wrist surgery. Six teams of two industrial design engineering students interviewed 40 patients in total in two private and two public hospitals in the Netherlands. All teams created a patient journey map, describing the patient experience. These maps were analysed by the authors to identify common themes among the six journeys. Four time-independent themes and four time-dependent themes were identified. Insecurity, reassurance by staff, loneliness, and lack of information were associated with the whole patient experience. Before surgery, lack of control was the most prominent experience. During surgery, acceptance and curiosity were present. After surgery, relief was the dominant experience. No significant differences between the public and private hospitals were discovered. Several suggestions are given on how to facilitate positive experiences and how to resolve negative experiences in outpatient surgery. These include suggestions for hospital policy and design interventions.

Hospital policy following cancelled orthopaedic surgery and the patient experience—making the best of a bad situation

Background: Number of cancelled electiveorthopaedic surgeries has increased over the last decade as strains on surgicalservices exacerbates. Being told an operation is cancelled is disappointing forthe patient, the clinician and is not without a financial loss. This experienceis frustrating for patients who are often not informed of cancellations bydoctors and sent home dissatisfied without clarity of treatment plans.Alternatives have to be sought to safeguard the patient experience, maintaincommunication and avoid wastage of resources. Methods: Over a 1-year period, 117 patientswere prospectively shortlisted with a cancellation on the day of surgery in adedicated elective orthopaedic unit. Questionnaire data assessed adherence toAssociation of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland Theatre Efficiencyguidance, including: healthcare professional informing patients; time offeredfor explanation; patient understanding and satisfaction as well as perceptionof being kept nil by mouth (NBM) longer than necessary. Opinions of alternativesatisfactory professionals to lead cancellation discussion was also evaluated. Results: 35.04% of cancellations were informedby consultants, 23.77% by junior doctors and 38.46% by nurses. Out of 10,patient understanding was 8.31 and satisfaction 6.37 for consultant leddiscussions against 5.12 and 4.07 for nurses, respectively. Overall, 35.04% ofpatients felt they were kept NBM longer than necessary vs. 60% of the 45patients told by nurses. 90.60% felt consultants were the ideal professional tolead cancellation discussions however 70.94% stated a registrar would besatisfactory. Conclusions: Cancelledelective surgery that a patient has mentally prepared for is extremelydemoralising. Poor peri-operative communication and management further worsensthe patient experience and represents sub-standard care. It is paramount thatguidelines exist where patients are informed of reasons for cancellation by asenior surgeon in a manner that accounts for availability of resources.

Editorial introductions

Editorial introductions

Cervical Cancer Screening for Women With Disabilities: Time for a New Approach?

Women with disabilities are underscreened for cervical cancer compared with the general population, likely because, in part, of both emotional and physical challenges associated with Pap testing. Women with certain disabilities often require an examination under anesthesia to undergo a speculum examination. However, anesthesia is not without risks and the perioperative experience can be burdensome to patients and caregivers. Either self-collected or provider-collected samples for human papillomavirus (HPV) testing might be better tolerated by patients, and recent evidence suggests that it is a suitable primary screening strategy. The Society of Gynecologic Oncology and the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology published an Interim Guidance Report outlining using primary HPV testing as an option for women 25 years and older. More recently, the US Preventive Services Task Force released a recommendation statement that included the option to use oncogenic HPV testing alone for women aged 30 to 65 years. We encourage clinical researchers and professional organizations to evaluate primary HPV screening among women with disabilities to advise providers about how to best perform cervical cancer screening without the need for a speculum examination. We cannot ignore the screening disparity experienced by this population, and advocating for screening approaches that reduce patient and caregiver burden would be a step in the right direction.

Managing Prolonged Pain After Surgery: Examining the Role of Opioids

A notable minority of patients experience persistent postsurgical pain and some of these patients consequently have prolonged exposure to opioids. Risk factors for prolonged opioid use after surgery include preoperative opioid use, anxiety, substance abuse, and alcohol abuse. The window to intervene and potentially prevent persistent opioid use after surgery is short and may best be accomplished by both surgeon and anesthesiologist working together. Anesthesiologists in particular are well positioned in the perioperative surgical home model to affect multiple aspects of the perioperative experience, including tailoring intraoperative medications and providing consultation for possible discharge analgesic regimens that can help minimize opioid use. Multimodal analgesia protocols reduce opioid consumption and thereby reduce exposure to opioids and theoretically the risk of persistent use. Regional anesthesia and analgesia techniques also reduce opioid consumption. Although many patients will recover without difficulty, the small minority who do not should receive customized care which may involve multiple office visits or consultation of a pain specialist. Enhanced recovery pathways are useful in optimizing outcomes after surgery.

Defining quality of recovery - What is important to patients?

Postoperative recovery is a complex process with several interrelated domains. Traditionally, the absence of negative physiological symptoms like nausea and pain, along with avoidance of major postoperative complications, has been the standard set by clinicians and hospitals for a satisfactory postoperative recovery. Nonetheless, evidence from recent studies reports these items to be the least important from the patient point of view. Effective communication, active involvement of the patient in their healthcare decisions, and empathy from healthcare providers are rated by patients as significant factors for their quality of recovery. Although challenging to study, the development of a multimodal, patient-centered approach to evaluate the postsurgical period is critical for a truly comprehensive assessment of recovery quality. This review provides an overview of our current understanding of how patient factors like satisfaction can be impacted by the Anesthesia Care Team and how overall quality of recovery is related to perioperative patient experiences.

Perioperative Management and Implementation of Enhanced Recovery Programs in Gynecologic Surgery for Benign Indications.

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programs are a multimodal approach to optimize the surgical experience. Intraoperative and postoperative pain management is essential because the stress of surgery results in significant neurohormonal and metabolic shifts that can influence patient analgesia. Enhanced recovery after surgery programs address the physiologic and psychological factors that contribute to pain outcomes and overall satisfaction scores. A multimodal approach to recovery throughout the perioperative surgical experience is representative of successful pathways. Enhanced recovery after surgery programs begin in the outpatient and preadmission setting by targeting behavioral changes and modifiable risk factors for pain in addition to cultivating patient expectations. Preoperatively, ERAS allows for patients to enter surgery without a fluid deficit that was previously seen with prolonged fasting and mechanical bowel preparations. Opioid-sparing analgesic agents are provided preemptively and many have synergistic effects when administered together, resulting in fewer opioids administered in the postoperative setting. Intraoperatively, euvolemia and normothermia are essential in reducing the adverse metabolic effects of surgery. Postoperatively, pain management, reduction in postoperative nausea and vomiting, proactive mobilization, and early enteral feeing minimize patient discomfort and decrease the duration until return to baseline. Although incorporation of all phases of the ERAS pathway will maximize patient benefit, stepwise incorporation of the phases of the pathway can still improve the surgical experience at minimal cost.

Anesthesia Information Management Systems.

Anesthesia information management systems (AIMS) have evolved from simple, automated intraoperative record keepers in a select few institutions to widely adopted, sophisticated hardware and software solutions that are integrated into a hospital's electronic health record system and used to manage and document a patient's entire perioperative experience. AIMS implementations have resulted in numerous billing, research, and clinical benefits, yet there remain challenges and areas of potential improvement to AIMS utilization. This article provides an overview of the history of AIMS, the components and features of AIMS, and the benefits and challenges associated with implementing and using AIMS. As AIMS continue to proliferate and data are increasingly shared across multi-institutional collaborations, visual analytics and advanced analytics techniques such as machine learning may be applied to AIMS data to reap even more benefits.

Parental Perception of the Perioperative Experience for Children With Autism.

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) face unique challenges when preparing for and undergoing surgery in the perioperative setting. Our goal was to describe this experience via the qualitative evaluation of interviews with parents whose children with ASD had recently undergone surgery in a tertiary medical center. Twelve parents or guardians participated in these interviews. Two independent researchers recorded interviews and analyzed transcripts. The researchers analyzed the interview transcripts using qualitative software to determine the categories of frequent answers to interview questions. Important categories that emerged included behavioral triggers (ie, response to sounds, expression of anxiety and pain), objects used for comfort, communication issues, important people, and advice. We found that children with ASD have specific and unique needs for reassurance and comfort during a perioperative visit. We created a tool, included in this article, to provide a patient-centered framework for interactions with children with ASD in the perioperative environment.

Adjunct medications for peripheral and neuraxial anesthesia.

Regional and neuraxial anesthesia can provide a safer perioperative experience, greater satisfaction, reduced opioid consumption, and reduction of pain, while minimizing side effects. Ultrasound technology has aided clinicians in depositing local anesthetic medication in precise proximity to targeted peripheral nerves. There are a plethora of adjuvants that have been utilized to prolong local anesthetic actions and enhance effects in peripheral nerve blocks. This manuscript describes the current state of the use of adjuncts, e.g., dexmedetomidine, dexamethasone, clonidine, epinephrine, etc., in regional anesthesia. Additionally, evidence behind dosing and block prolongation is summarized along with patient outcomes, adverse effects, and future directions.

Anxiety, memories and coping in patients undergoing intracranial tumor surgery

ObjectivesThe diagnosis and the surgical removal of a brain tumor can have serious impact on the quality of life of a patient. The question rises, whether having more or just less memories of the procedure is better for coping with such an event. Furthermore, for preoperative information of future patients it is important to know how patients process their emotions and memories. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the link between preoperative anxiety, the perioperative experience and the quantity and quality of postoperative memories in patients who underwent intracranial tumor surgery. Patients and methodsThis study was a retrospective observational study; all patients who underwent intracranial tumor surgery at the Erasmus Medical Centre Rotterdam between January 1st 2014 and December 31st 2015 were identified. In May 2016, all patients who were not registered as deceased were sent a questionnaire about their anxieties, perceptions and memories of the perioperative period. ResultsIn total 476 patients were included. 272 patients responded, which resulted in a response rate of 57.14%. In the general anesthesia (GA) group there was a significant negative correlation between anxiety in the perioperative period and the quantity and quality of memories. In the awake craniotomy group, there was a significant negative correlation between anxiety after the operation and the quantity of memories. ConclusionPatients in the GA group who experienced anxiety in the perioperative period had less quantity and quality of memories and less patient satisfaction. Patients in the AC group who experienced anxiety after the operation had only a lower quantity of the memory; there was no correlation with patient satisfaction.

Peri-operative management of swine orthotopic liver transplantation

Objective To summarize the peri-operative management experience of swine orthotopic liver transplantation. Methods From September 2013 to August 2016, 62 liver transplantations (LT) were performed with 124 Bama mini-pigs, including 30 cases of standard LT, 10 cases of split LT, 11 cases of donation after cardiac death (DCD) LT, 5 cases of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) repaired DCD LT and 6 cases of normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) repaired DCD LT. Results For all of the 124 pigs, 3 underwent tracheotomy after failed tracheal intubation. Anhepatic time was (22.3±2.6) min (range 18-26 min), similar among the 62 different type LTs. Mean arterial pressure could be mainted ≥ 50 mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) through rapid colloid solution infusion without administration of any vasoactive substances.5 receipts of split LTs died during the operation because of bleeding. 14 cases died after operation. 3 were of standard LT, all in the very beginning period when we first build this animal model, 1 died of abdominal bleeding, the other 2 died of bile leak induced severe infection.11 cases from the DCD LT died of model related hepatic failure. Post-operative 5-day survival rates of standard, split, DCD, ECMO-repaired DCD, NMP-repaired DCD were 90%, 50%, 0%, 100%, 100%, respectively. Conclusion Precise peri-operative management is essential for successful swine orthotopic liver transplantation. Skilled trachea intubation and tracheotomy procedure, accurate liquid management, well-practiced animal model are the key points, and anhepatic period should be shortened as much as possible. Key words: Pig; Liver transplantation; Peri-operative management