title: Pushing the frontiers of living donor right hepatectomy.
abstract: Living donor right hepatectomy (LDRH) is currently the most common donor surgery in adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation although the morbidity and mortality reported in living donors still contradicts the Hippocratic tenet of "do no harm". Achieving low complication rates in LDRH remains a matter of major concern. Living donor surgery is performed worldwide as an established solution to the donor shortage. The aim of this study was to assess the current status of LDRH and comment on the future of the procedure; assessment was made from the standpoint of optimizing the donor selection criteria and reducing morbidity based on both the authors' 8-year institutional experience and a literature review. New possibilities have been explored regarding selection criteria. The safety of living donors with unfavorable conditions, such as low remnant liver volume, fatty change, or old age, should also be considered. Abdominal incisions have become shorter, even without laparoscopic assistance; upper midline laparotomy is the primary incision used in more than 400 consecutive LDRHs in the authors' institution. Various surgical techniques based on preoperative imaging technology of vascular and biliary anomalies have decreased the anatomical barriers in LDRH. Operative time has been reduced, with low blood loss. Laparoscopic or robotic LDRH has been tried in only a few selected donors. The LDRH-specific, long-term outcomes remain to be addressed. The follow-up duration of these studies should be long enough to address possible late complications. Donor safety, which is the highest priority, is ensured by three factors: preoperative selection, intraoperative surgical technique, and postoperative management. These three focus areas should be continuously refined, with the ultimate goal of zero morbidity.
authors.affiliation: Seong Hoon Kim, Seung Duk Lee, Young Kyu Kim, Sang-Jae Park, Center for Liver Cancer, National Cancer Center, 111 Jungbalsan-ro, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do 410-769, South Korea.
authors.forename: Seong Hoon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Seong Hoon Kim, Seung Duk Lee, Young Kyu Kim, Sang-Jae Park, Center for Liver Cancer, National Cancer Center, 111 Jungbalsan-ro, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do 410-769, South Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Duk
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Seong Hoon Kim, Seung Duk Lee, Young Kyu Kim, Sang-Jae Park, Center for Liver Cancer, National Cancer Center, 111 Jungbalsan-ro, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do 410-769, South Korea.
authors.forename: Young Kyu
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Seong Hoon Kim, Seung Duk Lee, Young Kyu Kim, Sang-Jae Park, Center for Liver Cancer, National Cancer Center, 111 Jungbalsan-ro, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do 410-769, South Korea.
authors.forename: Sang-Jae
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D046148:Donor Selection; D006498:Hepatectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D019520:Living Donors; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Donor morbidity; Donor selection; Liver transplantation; Living donor; Right hepatectomy