[Diagnosis and management for early hepatic artery thrombosis after liver transplantation].
OBJECTIVE
To explore the diagnosis and management of early hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT) after liver transplantation.


METHODS
Routine examination of Color Doppler Imagine (CDI) was used to detect hepatic artery flow after liver transplantation in 220 cases from April 2001 to November 2004. Suspected patients were further confirmed by immediate hepatic artery angiography, and continuous infusion of urokinase through hepatic artery with catheter was performed to the patients with HAT.


RESULTS
HAT was identified in 6 patients (2.7%), occurring 5.5 days (2 - 19 days) after liver transplantation. Hepatic artery recanalization was obtained in 6 cases. One patient died from lung infection 2 months after liver transplantation. One patient underwent the second liver transplantation because of the recurrence of HAT 6 months after the first transplantation, but died from multiple system organ failure 2 months after the operation. The other 4 cases have been surviving well disease-freely.


CONCLUSIONS
CDI is useful for the diagnosis of early HAT after liver transplantation. Contributes to recovery of the hepatic artery flow, continuous infusion of urokinase through hepatic artery with catheter may be the first choice of the therapy for early HAT.
Zhou
Jian
J
Liver Cancer Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
Fan
Jia
J
Shen
Ying-hao
YH
Wang
Jian-hua
JH
Wu
Zhi-quan
ZQ
Qiu
Shuang-jian
SJ
Yan
Zhi-ping
ZP
Cheng
Jie-ming
JM
Huang
Xiao-wu
XW
Xiao
Yong-sheng
YS
Sun
Jian
J
Tang
Zhao-you
ZY
Wang
Yu-qi
YQ
D000328:Adult; D001157:Arterial Occlusive Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D002404:Catheterization; D006499:Hepatic Artery; D006801:Humans; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color