title: Changes in hepatic hemodynamics after orthotopic liver transplantation: color Doppler sonography.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Liver perfusion has an influence on therapy results in patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). The objective of the present study was to investigate changes in hepatic hemodynamics in patients after OLT with color-coded Doppler sonography (CCDS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-five consecutive patients were included. The examinations were done before, on postoperative day 1, and then weekly until the patients were discharged. Mean velocity of the portal (PV-V) and splenic (SV-V) veins and the maximum velocity and resistance index of the hepatic artery were determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After OLT a significant increase in PV-V and SV-V was observed. Twenty-five patients had normal perfusion of the hepatic artery, whereas 16 patients had abnormal flow patterns. In these patients prostaglandin I(2) was used until flow rates normalized. In four patients, CCDS could not detect perfusion of the hepatic artery.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CCDS is a suitable method for evaluating hepatic hemodynamics before and after OLT. Changes in blood flow velocities in the liver-supplying vessels are detectable, but perfusion of the hepatic artery is seldom detectable. These observations are of special interest after OLT, where liver circulation has an influence on therapy results.
authors: Department of Medicine I, University of Erlangen Nuernberg, Krankenhausstr. 12, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Herold
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Reck
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Ott
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Becker
authors: H T
authors: HT
authors: Schneider
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Schuppan
authors: E G
authors: EG
authors: Hahn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color