Live donor adult liver transplantation using right lobe grafts: donor evaluation and surgical outcome.
OBJECTIVE
Live donor adult liver transplantation (LDALT) is a safe and efficacious treatment for patients with end-stage liver disease.


METHODS
Case-control study.


METHODS
Hepatobiliary surgery and liver transplantation unit.


METHODS
From December 10, 1998, through April 10, 2000, a single team performed 15 LDALT procedures with 2 simultaneous living donor kidney transplants. During this period, 66 potential donors were screened and evaluated.


METHODS
Potential donors were evaluated with 3-dimensional helical computed tomographic scan, including volume renderings for hepatic lobar volume, vascular anatomy, virtual resection planes, and morphologic features. Suitable donors undergo complete medical and psychiatric evaluation and preoperative arteriography.


METHODS
Donor demographics, evaluation data, operative data, hospital length of stay, and morbidity.


RESULTS
A total of 38 men (58%) and 28 women (42%) were evaluated with 15 donors participating in LDALT. Two additional donors provided kidney grafts for simultaneous transplantation at the time of LDALT. Thirty-two donors (48%) were rejected for either donor or recipient reasons, and 10 patients (15%) elected not to participate after initial screening. Three-dimensional volume renderings by helical computed tomographic scan predicted right lobe liver volume within 92% of actual graft volume. Donor morbidity, including all complications, was 67% with no mortality. Residual liver regenerated to approximately 70% of initial volume within 1 week and 80% within 1 month after surgery.


CONCLUSIONS
Donor evaluation is an important component of LDALT. Significant donor morbidity is encountered even with careful selection. To minimize donor morbidity, groups considering initiating living donor programs should have expertise in hepatic resection and vena cava preservation using the "piggyback" technique during liver transplantation.
Pomfret
E A
EA
Department of Liver Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Lahey Clinic Medical Center, 41 Mall Rd, Burlington, MA 01805, USA.
Pomposelli
J J
JJ
Lewis
W D
WD
Gordon
F D
FD
Burns
D L
DL
Lally
A
A
Raptopoulos
V
V
Jenkins
R L
RL
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D008115:Liver Regeneration; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D019520:Living Donors; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed