Summary Biliary reconstruction remains common in postoperative complications after liver transplantation. A systematic search was conducted on the PubMed database and 61 studies of retrospective or prospective institutional data were eligible for this review. The study comprised a total of 14 359 liver transplantations. The overall incidence of biliary stricture was 13%; 12% among deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) patients and 19% among living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) recipients. The overall incidence of biliary leakage was 8.2%, 7.8% among DDLT patients and 9.5% among LDLT recipients. An endoscopic strategy is the first choice for biliary complications; 83% of patients with biliary stricture were treated by endoscopic modalities with a success rate of 57% and 38% of patients with leakage were indicated for endoscopic biliary drainage. T‐tube placement was not performed in 82% of duct‐to‐duct reconstruction. The incidence of biliary stricture was 10% with a T‐tube and 13% without a T‐tube and the incidence of leakage was 5% with a T‐tube and 6% without a T‐tube. A preceding bile leak and LDLT procedure are accepted risk factors for anastomotic stricture. Biliary complications remain common, which requires further investigation and the refinement of reconstruction techniques and management strategies.

Short and direct vein anastomosis is generally performed in living donor liver transplantation using a right liver graft. The graft will regenerate, however, and might thus compress the anastomosis. We formulated a strategy for outflow reconstruction in right liver graft. When reconstruction of multiple short hepatic veins was necessary, a cryopreserved inferior vena cava graft was anastomosed with the hepatic veins of the graft in a basin. When there were no major short hepatic veins in the graft, a rectangular-shaped vein graft was used to make a single orifice using the middle and right hepatic veins in the graft. When there were no tributaries of the middle hepatic vein to be reconstructed, a diamond-shaped vein patch was anastomosed on the anterior wall of the right hepatic vein orifice of the graft. These techniques were satisfactorily applied in 40 patients with no torsion or tension at the anastomotic site of the hepatic venous reconstruction or other complications in outflow. The present strategy seemed to be technically feasible for outflow reconstruction in a right liver graft.

Indocyanine green (ICG) is a photothermal agent, photosensitizer, and fluorescence imaging probe which shows specific accumulation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. We recently developed a photodynamic therapy (PDT) using ICG and near-infrared (NIR) laser as a new anti-cancer treatment for HCC. However, the molecular mechanism underlying this effect needs to be elucidated. HuH-7 cells, a well-differentiated human HCC cell line, were transplanted subcutaneously into BALB/c-nu/nu mice for in vivo experiment. ICG was administered 24 h before NIR irradiation. The irradiation was performed at three tumor locations by 823-nm NIR laser on days 1 and 7. The temperature of HuH-7 xenografts increased to 48.5 °C 3 minutes after ICG-NIR irradiation start. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was detected after ICG-NIR irradiation both in vitro and in vivo. There was certain anti-tumor effect and ROS production even under cooling conditions. Repeated NIR irradiation increased the cell toxicity of ICG-NIR therapy; the mean tumor volume on day 9 was significantly smaller after ICG-NIR irradiation compared to tumor without irradiation (87 mm3 vs. 1332 mm3; p = 0.01) in HCC mice xenografts model. ICG-NIR therapy induced apoptosis in HCC cells via a photothermal effect and oxidative stress. Repeated ICG-NIR irradiation enhanced the anti-tumor effect.

The current technique did not reduce morbidity as expected. Further technical advancement and refinement are needed for better results.

Summary Expansion of the liver transplantation indication criteria for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has long been debated. Here we propose new, expanded living‐donor liver transplantation (LDLT) criteria for HCC patients based on a retrospective data analysis of the Japanese nationwide survey. A total of 965 HCC patients undergoing LDLT were included, 301 (31%) of whom were beyond the Milan criteria. Here, we applied the Greenwood formula to investigate new criteria enabling the maximal enrollment of candidates while securing a 5‐year recurrence rate (95% upper confidence limit) below 10% by examining various combinations of tumor numbers and serum alpha‐fetoprotein values, and maintaining the maximal nodule diameter at 5 cm. Finally, new expanded criteria for LDLT candidates with HCC, the 5‐5‐500 rule (nodule size ≤5 cm in diameter, nodule number ≤5, and alfa‐fetoprotein value ≤500 ng/ml), were established as a new regulation with a 95% confidence interval of a 5‐year recurrence rate of 7.3% (5.2–9.3) and a 19% increase in the number of eligible patients. In addition, the 5‐5‐500 rule could identify patients at high risk of recurrence, among those within and beyond the Milan criteria. In conclusion, the new criteria – the 5‐5‐500 rule – might provide rational expansion for LDLT candidates with HCC.

The present preemptive antiviral protocol after LDLT is safe and might warrant a controlled study for confirming its benefit on graft survival.

The MPD index obtained from preoperative MDCT can be a reliable predictor of POPF after PD.

Simultaneous splenectomy (SPX) is preferentially performed in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) to modulate portal flow; increase postoperative platelet count, especially among those with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection; and modulate the immunologic status in ABO-incompatible cases. The negative effects of the procedure, however, are not well established. Records of 395 LDLTs performed at our institution, including 169 (42.8%) patients with simultaneous SPX and 226 (57.2%) patients with spleen preservation, were reviewed with special reference to the simultaneous SPX cases. The most common indication for SPX was HCV-related disease (n = 114), followed by low preoperative platelet count (n = 52), and other reasons (n = 3). Simultaneous splenectomy did not increase the platelet count in the early postoperative period, but the incidence of reoperation for postoperative hemorrhage was increased, mainly at the SPX site, within the first week. In addition, the operative time, intraoperative blood loss, and incidence of lethal infectious disease were significantly higher in the SPX group, whereas the incidence of small-for-size syndrome was comparable between groups. Finally, SPX was an independent predictor for both postoperative hemorrhage (odds ratio [OR] = 2.451; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.285-4.815; P = 0.006) and lethal infectious complication (OR = 3.748; 95% CI = 1.148-14.001; P = 0.03). In conclusion, on the basis of the present findings, we do not recommend simultaneous SPX in LDLT. Liver Transplantation 22 1526-1535 2016 AASLD.