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Background: Bile duct injury (BDI) is a severe complication that may arise during the surgical treatment of benign disease and a few patients will develop end-stage liver disease (ESLD) requiring a liver transplant (LT). Objective: Analyse the experience using LT as a definitive treatment of BDI in Argentina. Patients and Methods: A national survey regarding the experience of LT for BDI. Results: Sixteen out 18 centres reported a total of 19 patients. The percentage of LT for BDI from the total number of LT per period was: 1990-94 = 3.1%, 1995-99 = 1.6%, 2000-04 = 0.7% and 2005-09 = 0.2% ( P < 0.001). The mean age was 45.7 ± 10.3 years (range 26-62) and 10 patients were female. The BDI occurred during cholecystectomy in 16 and 7 had vascular injuries. One patient presented with acute liver failure and the others with chronic ESLD. The median time between BDI and LT was 71 months (range 0.2-157). The mean follow-up was 8.3 years (10 months to 16.4 years). Survival at 1, 3, 5 and 10 years was 73%, 68%, 68% and 45%, respectively. Conclusions: The use of LT for the treatment of BDI declined over the review period. LT plays a role in selected cases in patients with acute liver failure and ESLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2005, the model of end-stage liver disease (MELD)-based allocation system was adopted to assess potential liver transplant (LT) recipients in Argentina. The aim of the present study was to revise the activity of the MELD Exception Experts Committee. Methods: Between 2005 and 2009, 1623 patients were listed for LT. Regulation provides extra-MELD points for amyloidosis, hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) and T2 hepatocellular carcinoma (T2 HCC). Centres could also request priority for other situations. Using a prospective database, we identified patients in whom priority points were requested. Pathology reports of explanted livers were analysed for patients with T2 HCC. Results: From 234 out of 1623 (14.4%) requests, the overall approval rate was 60.2% including: 2 amyloidosis, 6 HPS, 111 T2 HCC and 22 non-regulated situations. Of the 111 patients with T2 HCC, 6 died (5.4%), 8 had tumour progression (7.2%), 94 were transplanted (84.2%) and 3 are still waiting. An explants correlation showed that presumed diagnosis of T2HCC was incorrect in 20/94 (22%) and was correct in only 41/94 (43%) cases being T1 HCC in 9 and T3 HCC in 23. Conclusions: MELD exceptions are frequently requested in Argentina. Unfortunately, most receiving priority points for T2 HCC benefited by medical error or imaging limitations. An intense review process is urgently needed to maintain equity and justice in the allocation system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a worldwide need to expand the donor liver pool. We report a consecutive series of elective candidates for liver transplantation (LT) who received 'livers that nobody wants' (LNWs) in Argentina. Methods: Between 2006 and 2009, outcomes for patients who received LNWs were analysed and compared with outcomes for a control group. To be defined as an LNW, an organ is required to fulfill two criteria. Firstly, each liver must be officially offered and refused more than 30 times; secondly, the liver must be refused by at least 50% of the LT programmes in our country before our programme can accept it. Principal endpoints were primary graft non-function (PNF), mortality, and graft and patient survival. Results: We transplanted 26 LNWs that had been discarded by a median of 12 centres. A total of 2666 reasons for refusal had been registered. These included poor donor status (n = 1980), followed by LT centre (n = 398) or recipient (n = 288) conditions. Incidences of PNF (3.8% vs. 4.0%), in-hospital mortality (3.8% vs. 8.0%), 1-year patient (84% vs. 84%) and graft (84% vs. 80%) survival were equal in the LNW and control groups. Conclusions: Transplantable livers are unnecessarily discarded by the transplant community. External and internal supervision of the activity of each LT programme is urgently needed to guarantee high standards of excellence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with a 57-year-old man who was diagnosed with groove pancreatitis following pancreaticoduodenectomy.

The physiological regulation of the liver blood flow is a result of a reciprocal portal vein and hepatic artery flow relationship. This mechanism is defined as the hepatic arterial buffer response (HABR). This study was addressed to investigate whether HABR is maintained in denervated grafts in liver transplant recipients. Portal blood flow (PBF) and hepatic arterial resistance index (PI) were measured 6 months after transplantation using Doppler. In each patient we consecutively measured the vasodilator (Ensure Plus PO versus placebo) and vasoconstrictor (isosorbide dinitrate 5 mg SL versus placebo) stimuli. The meal ingestion caused a significant increase of both parameters, PBF (from 1495 ± 260 to 2069 ± 250 mL/min, P < 0.05) and PI (from 0.7 ± 0.2 to 0.8 ± 0.2, P < 0.05). By contrast, isosorbide dinitrate reduced PBF (from 1660 ± 270 to 1397 ± 250 mL/min, P < 0.05) and PI (from 0.7 ± 0.2 to 0.5 ± 0.2, P < 0.05). We show that PBF and PI are reciprocally modified with the administration of vasoconstrictor and vasodilator stimuli. These results suggest the persistence of the HABR in a denervated human model, suggesting that this mechanism is independent of the regulation from the autonomic nervous system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Significant amounts of red blood cells (RBCs) transfusions are associated with poor outcome after liver transplantation (LT). We report our series of LT without perioperative RBC (P-RBC) transfusions to evaluate its influence on early and long-term outcomes following LT. Methods. A consecutive series of LT between 2006 and 2011 was analyzed. P-RBC transfusion was defined as one or more RBC units administrated during or ≤48 hours after LT. We divided the cohort in "No-Transfusion" and "Yes-Transfusion." Preoperative status, graft quality, and intra- and postoperative variables were compared to assess P-RBC transfusion risk factors and postoperative outcome. Results. LT was performed in 127 patients ("No-Transfusion" = 39 versus "Yes-Transfusion" = 88).While median MELD was significantly higher in Yes-Transfusion (11 versus 21; P = 0.0001) group, platelet count, prothrombin time, and hemoglobin were significantly lower. On multivariate analysis, the unique independent risk factor associated with P-RBC transfusions was preoperative hemoglobin (P < 0.001). Incidence of postoperative bacterial infections (10 versus 27%; P = 0.03), median ICU (2 versus 3 days; P = 0.03), and hospital stay (7.5 versus 9 days; P = 0.01) were negatively influenced by P-RBC transfusions. However, 30-day mortality (10 versus 15%) and one- (86 versus 70%) and 3-year (77 versus 66%) survival were equivalent in both groups. Conclusions. Recipient MELD score was not a predictive factor for P-RBC transfusion. Patients requiring P-RBC transfusions had worse postoperative outcome. Therefore, maximum efforts must be focused on improving hemoglobin levels during waiting list time to prevent using P-RBC in LT recipients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver transplantation (LT) remains the only cure for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in many cases. Over many years, most centers have applied the Milan criteria for selecting cirrhotic patients with HCC for LT. In a new era where several transplant groups are pushing the limits of transplanting HCC outside Milan criteria as an aggressive approach with promising results, we present interesting images of a patient that presented a unique and rare site of HCC metastasis after 36 months of liver transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]