title: Complications of liver transplantation: multimodality imaging approach.
abstract: Liver transplantation is currently an accepted first-line treatment for patients with end-stage acute or chronic liver disease, but postoperative complications may limit the long-term success of transplantation. The most common and most clinically significant complications are arterial and venous thrombosis and stenosis, biliary disorders, fluid collections, neoplasms, and graft rejection. Early diagnosis is crucial to the successful management of all these complications, and imaging plays an important role in the diagnosis of all but graft rejection. A multimodality approach including ultrasonography and cross-sectional imaging studies often is most effective for diagnosis. Each imaging modality has specific strengths and weaknesses, and the diagnostic usefulness of a modality depends mainly on the patient's characteristics, the clinical purpose of the imaging evaluation, and the expertise of imaging professionals.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Radiology, University of São Paulo, Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil. angelacaiado@gmail.com
authors.forename: Angela Hissae Motoyama
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Caiado
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Blasbalg
authors.forename: Antonio Sergio Zafred
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Marcelino
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: da Cunha Pinho
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Chammas
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: da Costa Leite
authors.forename: Giovanni Guido
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Cerri
authors.forename: André Cosme
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.forename: Telésforo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bacchella
authors.forename: Marcel Cerqueira César
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Machado
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001649:Bile Duct Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D006502:Budd-Chiari Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D014463:Ultrasonography