title: Hepatic resection in liver transplant recipients: single center experience and review of the literature.
abstract: Biliary complications such as ischemic (type) biliary lesions frequently develop following liver transplantation, requiring costly medical and endoscopic treatment. If conservative approaches fail, re-transplantation is most often an inevitable sequel. Because of an increasing donor organ shortage and unfavorable outcomes in hepatic re-transplantation, efforts to prolong graft survival become of particular interest. From a series of 1685 liver transplants, we herein report on three patients who underwent partial hepatic graft resection for (ischemic type) biliary lesions. In all cases, left hepatectomy (Couinaud's segments II, III and IV) was performed without Pringle maneuver or mobilization of the right liver. All patients fully recovered postoperatively, but biliary leakage required surgical revision twice in one patient. At last follow-up, two patients presented alive and well. The other patient with persistent hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT), however, demonstrated progression of disease in the right liver remnant and required re-transplantation 13 months after hepatic graft resection. Including our own patients, review of the literature identified 24 adult patients who underwent hepatic graft resection. In conclusion, partial graft hepatectomy can be considered a safe and beneficial procedure in selected liver transplant recipients with anatomical limited biliary injury, thereby, preserving scarce donor organs.
authors.affiliation: Department of General-, Visceral- and Transplantation-Surgery, Charite - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Berlin, Germany. olaf. guckelberger@charite.de
authors.forename: Olaf
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Guckelberger
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stange
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Glanemann
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lopez-Hänninen
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Heidenhain
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jonas
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Klupp
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Neuhaus
authors.forename: Jan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Langrehr
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001652:Bile Ducts / Q000473:pathology; D015209:Cholangitis, Sclerosing / Q000628:therapy; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005355:Fibrosis / Q000628:therapy; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006084:Graft Rejection; D006085:Graft Survival; D006498:Hepatectomy / Q000379:methods*; D006499:Hepatic Artery / Q000473:pathology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012086:Reoperation / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014463:Ultrasonography