UNTIL last year, the kidney was the only organ which had been transplanted with subsequent significant prolongation of life. There had been nine reported attempts at orthotopic liver transplantation; seven in Denver 2 2 + 2 3 and one each in Bostonle and P a r i~.~ Two of these patients had succumbed within a few hours after operat i~n ,~, 22 and none had lived for longer than 23 days.This dismal picture has changed within the last 9 months, inasmuch as seven consecutive patients treated with orthotopic liver transplantation from July 23, 1967 to March 17, 1968 all passed through this previously lethal operative and postoperative period. Three of the recipients are still alive after 9, 23$, and 1 months; the others died after 2, 3%, 454, and 6 months. MethodsThe Recipients. Summary information for the seven patients is given in Table 1. Their ages were 13 months to 16 years. Six were females. The indications for transplantation, which had been established by earlier explorations at other hospitals, were

In an effort to answer many unresolved questions concerning orthotopic homotransplantation of the canine liver, a complete reappraisal of this preparation was under-taken in early 1964 in both the untreated and modified host. A particular effort was made to (A) reduce the operative mortality; (B) interpret the significance of pathologic changes in the homograft and in the recipient tissues; (C) define the presence or absence of a graft-host reaction; (D) study the effect of variations in therapy upon results; (E) assess the hepatotoxic properties of azathioprine; (F) determine if and with what regularity hepatic rejection could be reversed and chronic survival attained; and (G) find if and when a state of relative host-graft non-reactivity developed some time after homotransplantation. METHODS Mongrel dogs weighing 8.3 to 27.3 kilograms were used. All animals had hematologic and liver function determinations before and at regular intervals after the experiments were begun. Red cell survival studies were performed with a Cr 51 technique. 6 Tetracycline and chloramphenicol were routinely administered. Azathioprine * was employed in most experiments with a dose of 2 to 8 mg. per kilogram per day. Insofar as possible, the induction of leukopenia was avoided. Azathioprine and antibiotic therapy was discontinued at 120 days in all surviving animals. Other variations in therapy are described below. Tissues were examined with light and electron microscopy. For homotransplantation, livers were obtained from donors of dissimilar appearance, but of approximately the same weight as the recipients. Prior to removal, the donor liver was cooled by perfusion of chilled Ringer's lactate solution through the portal vein. The technique of transplantation 24 resulted in an essentially normal blood supply (Fig. 1). The intervals of ischemia were almost all less than one hour. Cholecystoduodenostomy was established for internal biliary drainage. Azathioprine toxicity study In 18 non-transplanted dogs the effects of 40 days of azathioprine were studied. The animals were divided into 3 groups of 6 each which received: Group I. Daily azathioprine (2 to 4 mg. per kilogram).

The purpose of this report is to describe some unusual manifestations that followed a very extensive hepatectomy (85 to 90 per cent) and to comment about the less than complete degree of regeneration that occurred postoperatively. Case ReportA nineteen year old girl had undergone exploration one week prior to admission because of a huge mass that occupied all of the upper abdomen and which, as indicated by liver scan ( Figure 1, left), replaced much of the liver. Tissue diagnosis of a well differentiated hepatoma was made from the previous exploration. Measurement of alpha fetoprotein was negative. For some months she had had severe abdominal pain that was eventually demonstrated to be due to hemorrhage into the tumor. A selective celiac arteriogram demonstrated a single hepatic artery. (Figure 1, right.) Although the entire arterial blood supply appeared to be involved in tumor, an attempt at resection was decided on.The procedure was carried out May 10, 1972, through a bilateral subcostal incision. The right hepatic artery, portal vein, and hepatic duct were ligated and divided. Branches of the left main hilar structures passing to the medial segment of the left lobe were cut, leaving only the lateral segment connected. The right and middle hepatic veins and all the small hepatic veins entering the inferior vena cava from the caudate lobe were sacrificed so that only the left hepatic vein remained. The lateral segment of the left lobe was smaller than usual, constituting approximately 15 per cent of the normal liver mass. Part of this segment had to be excised to remove the tumor, which extended to the left of the falciform ligament. The remaining hepatic fragment was thought to represent between 10 and 15 per cent of a normal liver. The excised specimen weighed 2,100 gm and had areas of hemorrhage within the tumor. It was examined histologically in five university departments of pathology noted for their special interest in liver disease. All consultants described the well-differentiated features of the neoplasm. Two diagnoses of hepatocellular adenoma were made, but three of the consultants classified the lesion as a hepatoma (hepatocarcinoma).After resection was completed, the residual fragment felt tense, a condition that was aggravated by efforts to cover the raw liver edge with the falciform ligament or omentum. Consequently, the raw surface was left open. The large right subphrenic cavity was extensively drained. The operation required nine hours and 5,500 ml of blood. Postoperative ventilatory support was provided for the first five hours. The patient was completely disoriented for three days but then suddenly became lucid.Requests for reprints should be addressed to Thomas E. Starzl, MD. Department of Surgery, University of Colorado Medical Center, 4200 East Ninth Avenue, Denver, Colorado 80220. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptAm J Surg. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010 October 25. Serious abnormalities in liver function, including jaundice, did not clear until the third week. (Figure 2) A...

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Abstract. Extensive hepatocellular adenomatosis (HA) and focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) represent a proliferation of hepatic cells that occurs most frequently in women. These lesions are uncommon in the pediatric age group, accounting for 2 % of pediatric hepatic tumors, and are extremely rare in males. The etiology of HA and FNH has been correlated with the use of oral contraceptives. We report to the best of our knowledge the first series of patients treated with OLTx for HA and FNH (five cases). All these patients had lesions involving at least 90 % of the hepatic parenchyma and all underwent major hepatic surgery before OLTx because of life threatening complications. One patient died in the immediate postoperative period following retransplantation for primary non-function of the first OLTx. Four out of five patients are currently alive from 4.1 to 9.6 years after OLTx. Our results justify the use of OLTx for symptomatic patients with HA and FNH who cannot be treated with conventional hepatic resections.