title: Evaluation of graft stiffness using acoustic radiation force impulse imaging after living donor liver transplantation.
abstract: Acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging is an ultrasound-based modality to evaluate tissue stiffness using short-duration acoustic pulses in the region of interest. Virtual touch tissue quantification (VTTQ), which is an implementation of ARFI, allows quantitative assessment of tissue stiffness. Twenty recipients who underwent living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) for chronic liver diseases were enrolled. Graft types included left lobes with the middle hepatic vein and caudate lobes (n = 11), right lobes (n = 7), and right posterior segments (n = 2). They underwent measurement of graft VTTQ during the early post-LDLT period. The VTTQ value level rose after LDLT, reaching a maximum level on postoperative day 4. There were no significant differences in the VTTQ values between the left and right lobe graft types. Significant correlations were observed between the postoperative maximum value of VTTQ and graft volume-to-recipient standard liver volume ratio, portal venous flow to graft volume ratio, and post-LDLT portal venous pressure. The postoperative maximum serum alanine aminotransferase level and ascites fluid production were also significantly correlated with VTTQ. ARFI may be a useful diagnostic tool for the noninvasive and quantitative evaluation of the severity of graft dysfunction after LDLT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ijichi
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shirabe
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Tomoharu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshizumi
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ikegami
authors.forename: Hiroto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kayashima
authors.forename: Kazutoyo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.forename: Takeo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toshima
authors.forename: Yohei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mano
authors.forename: Yoshihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Maehara
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D064591:Allografts; D015331:Cohort Studies; D051799:Delayed Graft Function / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques; D005260:Female; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D017093:Liver Failure / Q000601:surgery*; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D019520:Living Donors; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: acoustic radiation force impulse; graft function; graft stiffness; living donor liver transplantation