title: Graft regeneration and host liver atrophy after auxiliary heterotopic liver transplantation for chronic liver failure.
abstract: We studied the size of the liver graft and the host liver in six consecutive patients undergoing auxiliary heterotopic liver transplantation for chronic end-stage liver disease. In all cases, a liver reduced in size by left lateral hepatectomy was inserted. The sizes of the graft and host liver were estimated by planimetry of two-dimensional di-isopropyl iminodiacetic acid scintigrams taken 3, 7, 21, 90 and 180 days after surgery. Graft size increased from a mean of 12.2 cm2 (95% confidence interval = 10.2 to 14.1) on day 3 to a maximum of 14.8 cm2 (95% confidence interval = 13.4 to 16.1) on day 21 and remained stable thereafter; in contrast, the host liver decreased in size from 9.6 cm2 (95% confidence interval = 6.8 to 12.3) on day 3 to 3.9 cm2 (95% confidence interval = 3.0 to 4.8) at mo 6. We conclude that in patients with chronic liver failure, an auxiliary allograft reduced in size and placed adjacent to the host liver shows regenerative growth within 3 wk, whereas the host liver atrophies in 3 to 6 mo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine II, University Hospital Dijkzigt, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Willemse
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ausema
authors.forename: O T
authors.initials: OT
authors.lastname: Terpstra
authors.forename: E P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Krenning
authors.forename: F W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: ten Kate
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Schalm
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001284:Atrophy; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D007098:Imino Acids; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D008115:Liver Regeneration; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008875:Middle Aged; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D019785:Technetium Tc 99m Disofenin; D016042:Transplantation, Heterotopic
chemical_list: D007098:Imino Acids; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D019785:Technetium Tc 99m Disofenin