Placement of drains was effective in a considerable proportion of patients undergoing hepatectomy, with regard to reducing the frequency of development of subphrenic fluid collections and biliary fistula/biloma formation.

Summary Successful management of portal vein (PV) complications after liver transplantation is crucial to long‐term success. Little information is available, however, regarding the incidence and treatment of PV complications after adult‐to‐adult living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). Between January 1996 and October 2006, 310 adult LDLTs were performed at our institution. PV thrombus was present in 54 patients at the time of LDLT. The incidence of PV complications, choice of therapeutic intervention, and outcomes were retrospectively analyzed. Among the 310 recipients, PV complications were identified in 28 (9%). Risk factors included smaller graft size, presence of PV thrombus at the time of LDLT, and use of jump or interposition cryo‐preserved vein grafts for PV reconstruction. When divided into early (within 3 months, n = 11) and late (after 3 months, n = 17) complications, the use of vein grafts for PV reconstruction predisposed to the occurrence of late, but not early, PV complications. Portal vein thrombosis occurred more frequently in the early period (eight out of 11, 73%), whereas stenosis occurred more frequently in the later period (14 out of 17, 82%). Surgical interventions were favored in the earlier period, whereas interventional radiologic approaches were selected for later events. Overall 3‐ and 5‐year survival rates were 81% and 77%, respectively, in patients with PV complications and 88% and 84%, respectively, in those without PV complications (P = 0.21, log‐rank test). PV complications are a significant problem following LDLT with both early and late manifestations. Acceptable long‐term results, however, are achievable with periodic ultrasonographic surveillance and timely conventional therapeutic interventions. The use of cryo‐preserved vein grafts for reconstructing portal flow should be discouraged.

Biliary complications are a major cause of morbidity following LDLT. Duct-to-duct anastomosis carried a higher risk for bile duct stenosis. With appropriate management, however, there was little influence on overall survival.

Previous reports described the effectiveness of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) for post-Kasai biliary atresia (BA) in the pediatric population. Information on the outcome of LDLT in patients that have reached adulthood after the Kasai procedure, however, is limited. A recent report postulated a poorer long-term outcome of LDLT in these adults. We reviewed our experience to evaluate the validity of this hypothesis. Between January 1996 and October 2006, 385 LDLTs were performed at our institution. There were 80 post-Kasai BA cases in the series; 60 (75%) were pediatric, and 20 (25%) were adults. There were no ABO blood type-incompatible cases. None were complicated with severe hepatopulmonary syndrome, portopulmonary hypertension, or hepatocellular carcinoma. The 5-year overall survival rates were 90% for the adults and 90% for the children (P Ͼ 0.99). The median follow-up period was 7 years in the adults and 11 years in the children. There was no donor mortality. The outcome of LDLT in adult post-Kasai BA patients in the present series was satisfactory; that is, adult and pediatric patient survival rates were not different. This finding suggests that for post-Kasai BA patients without serious comorbidity at the time of transplantation, LDLT can be performed safely in all age groups.

Summary Biliary complications remain the most challenging issue in adult living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) and to the best of our knowledge, no study has focused on the biliary complications in LDLT with right lateral sector graft (RLSG), a graft consisting of segments VI and VII according to Couinaud’s nomenclature for liver segmentation. Between January 1996 and October 2006, 310 LDLTs were performed for adult recipients at our institution. Among them, 20 patients received RLSG. The incidence of biliary complications during follow‐up in these patients with RLSG was retrospectively analyzed. Follow‐up period after transplantation ranged from 1 to 87 months (median 58 months). The 3‐year and 5‐year graft survival rates following the use of RLSGs in LDLT were 90% and 90%, respectively. Biliary complications were encountered in altogether nine patients. Two patients (10%) were complicated with bile leakage requiring surgical intervention. Seven patients (35%) were complicated with bile duct stenosis, which occurred with a median interval of 26 months (range: 6–51 months) after LDLT. Four were treated surgically and the other three were treated by endoscopic approach. Outcomes of the interventions were satisfactory in all cases. The incidence and severity of biliary complications after LDLT using RLSG was within an acceptable range with excellent graft survival. Accordingly, it is concluded that RLSG is a technically feasible option that may effectively expand the donor pool. Further application of RLSG is warranted.

No abstract

We describe a case of living donor liver transplantation with hepatofugal portal flow caused by acute cellular rejection. The reversed portal flow was corrected by splenectomy and ligation of the residual collateral veins. Hepatofugal flow causes ischemic damage to the graft, which does not normalize spontaneously. In this particular case, meticulous Doppler ultrasound examination and prompt response to reversed portal flow salvaged the graft.

Duodenal varices are a rare complication in patients with portal hypertension. Bleeding from duodenal varices often results in a severe prognosis. Diagnosis of the disease is usually based on findings obtained by endoscopy or angiography. However, it occasionally fails to detect the lesion and demonstrate its porto-systemic shunt vessels which are necessary information to decide an appropriate treatment. Recent advances in CT may make it possible for us to reveal duodenal varices with complicated porto-systemic shunt vessels. We report the case of a 58-year-old man with liver cirrhosis with repeated bleeding from duodenal varices. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) revealed multinodular varices in the third portion of the duodenum. Then we conducted a capsule endoscopy (CE) and found fresh blood in the duodenum, suggesting duodenal variceal hemorrhage. Angiography depicted the varices with one afferent and two efferent vessels. Abdominal CT examination was conducted using a fourchannel multi-detector row CT scanner. The multiplanar reconstructed images revealed not only the varices, but also three afferent and two efferent vessels. The patient was treated by surgical ligation and sclerotherapy, because of its complicated porto-systemic shunt and reserved liver function. No gastrointestinal bleeding has been seen after the surgery. Our case suggests the usefulness of multidetector CT with multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) for the diagnosis and therapeutic decision of duodenal varices.