title: Relationship between portal venous flow and liver regeneration in patients after living donor right-lobe liver transplantation.
abstract: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between portal venous (PV) velocity and degree of liver regeneration in humans after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). Between July 1997 and September 2002, a total of 15 adult-to-adult LDLTs with right-lobe grafts were performed, and 13 of these patients were enrolled in this study. Postoperative PV dynamics differed according to the primary liver disease; therefore, patients were divided into two groups: a fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) group (n = 4) and a liver cirrhosis (LC) group (n = 9). Right-lobe donors (n = 13; D group) were used as controls. Doppler ultrasound was used to measured changes in PV velocity preoperatively; postoperative days (PODs) 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28; and 3 months after LDLT. To assess hepatic regeneration, the increase in liver volume ratio (postoperative liver volume to standard liver volume [SLV]) was measured. PV velocity after LDLT in the LC group increased sharply until POD 7, whereas those in the FHF and D groups were constant. In the first 3 months after LDLT, mean PV velocity was greater in the LC group than the other groups, reflecting the persistent hyperdynamic state in chronic end-stage liver disease. Liver regeneration also was more rapid in the LC group than the FHF and D groups and reached 100% as early as 2 weeks posttransplantation, whereas both the FHF and D livers reached approximately 80% of SLV at 3 months. PV velocity POD 7 correlated significantly with regeneration of the partial-liver allograft at 1 month (r = 0.84; P =.0091). In conclusion, the PV persistent hyperdynamic state in the LC group could directly trigger early liver regeneration in partial-liver allografts after LDLT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Transplantation and Digestive Surgery, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Japan. seihinae@net.nagasaki-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eguchi
authors.forename: Katsuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yanaga
authors.forename: Nozomu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sugiyama
authors.forename: Sadayuki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Okudaira
authors.forename: Junichiro
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Furui
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kanematsu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology / Q000601:surgery; D008102:Liver Circulation; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008115:Liver Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D019520:Living Donors; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011169:Portal Vein / Q000502:physiology*