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Background and Objectives : The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical and laboratory changes of ischemia and reperfusion injury in the remnant livers of donors with and without Pringle maneuver. Furthermore, we evaluated the recipients who have been transplanted with liver grafts from these donors. Methods and Materials : A total of 108 patients (54 living liver donors and 54 liver recipients) who underwent donor hepatectomy and recipients who living donor liver transplantation, were included in this randomized double-blind study between February 2021 and June 2021. The donors were divided into two groups: Pringle maneuver applied ( n = 27) and Pringle maneuver not applied ( n = 27). Similarly, recipients with implanted liver obtained from these donors were divided into two groups as the Pringle maneuver was performed ( n = 27) and not performed ( n = 27). Blood samples from donors and recipients were obtained on pre-operative, post-operative 0 h day (day of surgery), post-operative 1st day, post-operative 2nd day, post-operative 3rd day, post-operative 4th day, post-operative 5th day, and liver tissue was taken from the graft during the back table procedures. Liver function tests and complete blood count, coagulation tests, IL-1, IL-2, IL-6, TNF-α, and β-galactosidase measurements, and histopathological findings were examined. Results : There was no statistically significant difference in the parameters of biochemical analyses for ischemia-reperfusion injury at all periods in the donors with and without the Pringle maneuver. Similarly, there was no statistically significant difference between in the recipients in who received liver grafts harvested with and without the Pringle maneuver. There was no statistically significant difference between the two recipient groups in terms of perioperative bleeding and early bile duct complications ( p = 0.685). In the histopathological examinations, hepatocyte damage was significantly higher in the Pringle maneuver group ( p = 0.001). Conclusions : Although the histological scoring of hepatocyte damage was found to be higher in the Pringle maneuver group, the Pringle maneuver did not augment ischemia-reperfusion injury in donors and recipients that was evaluated by clinical and laboratory analyses.

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the impact of deceased-donor organ procurement techniques (standard versus modified standard) on biochemical outcomes after liver transplant., Materials and Methods: From February 2006 to December 2013, organs were recovered from 105 consecutive deceased donors by our transplant team. All organ procurement procedures were performed by a pioneer surgeon experienced in organ recovery from deceased donors. Donors were divided into those who had the abdominothoracic approach, which is referred to as the standard technique, and those who had the abdominal approach, which is referred to as the modified standard technique. Both groups were compared in terms of age, sex, weight, height, body mass index, liver graft weight, cross-clamping time, cold ischemia time, and liver function tests in recipients over the first 3 postoperative days., Results: Our study group included 66 male and 39 female donors, with an age range of 1 to 93 years (median of 44 y, means ± standard deviation of 43.8 ± 23.7 y). Among the deceased donors, 73 underwent the modified standard technique and 32 underwent the standard technique. There were no statistically significant differences between groups in terms of age, sex, weight, height, body mass index, graft weight, cold ischemia time, and liver function tests in recipients over the first 3 postoperative days. We observed a statistically significant difference between groups in terms of cross-clamping time (P < .001)., Conclusions: Except for the decreased cross-clamping time, the modified standard technique for deceased organ retrieval had no effect on clinical outcomes in recipients after liver transplant. However, this retrospective study requires additional prospective investigations to more fully understand the differences.

Objective: To determine the relationship between a transplant center's experience and life-threatening or nearly life-threatening complications during living donor hepatectomy (LDH)., Methods: The medical records of 1140 patients who underwent LDH were analyzed. To determine the relationship between life-threatening complications and a transplant center's experience, the following comparisons between LDH cases were performed: first 100 vs subsequent 100; first 100 vs subsequent 1040; first 200 vs subsequent 940; right hepatectomy vs left hepatectomy; and first 5 years of experience vs subsequent 5 years., Results: A total of 36 life-threatening or nearly life-threatening complications developed in 34 of 1140 (2.98%) healthy individuals undergoing LDH. Of these, 5 occurred intraoperatively, 26 within 1 month, and 5 beyond 1 month. The most common complications were biliary problems and postoperative bleeding. None of the donors died at follow-up. One donor underwent deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) for severe hepatic failure. Only 2 comparisons were significantly different with regard to life-threatening complications: the first 100 vs the subsequent 1040 (P = .03) and the first 200 vs the subsequent 940 (P = .01)., Conclusion: This study indicates that the incidence of life-threatening or nearly life-threatening complications are reduced by increased center experience (>200 LDHs)., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: The aim of the study was to report the detailed surgical techniques of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in patients with Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS)., Methods: Demographic and surgical techniques characteristics of 39 patients with BCS who underwent LDLT were retrospectively reviewed. Thirty-two of them had native vena cava inferior (VCI) preservation and 6 had retrohepatic VCI resection with venous continuity established by cryopreserved VCI (n = 4) or aortic graft (n = 2). In 1 patient, the anastomosis was established between the graft hepatic vein (HV) and the suprahepatic VCI. For preservation of the native VCI, immediately before the graft implantation, the thickened anterior, and right/left lateral walls of the recipient VCI were resected caudally and cranially until the intact vein wall was reached, and then an anastomosis was created between the (HV) of the graft reconstructed as a circumferential fence and the reconstructed recipient VCI. For resection of the retrohepatic VCI, the anastomosis was created with the same technique in all 6 patients in whom VCI was reformed by using a vascular graft., Results: Post-LT complications developed in 19 of the patients. Complications related to the biliary anastomosis accounted for 12 of these cases, with 11 treated by PTC and/or ERCP, and 1 by hepaticojejunostomy. Two of the 39 patients developed recurrent BCS and were treated by interventional radiological methods. Thirteen patients died and none were related to the BCS recurrence., Conclusion: Favorable outcomes are achievable with LDLT treatment of patients with BCS, which carries important implications for countries with inadequate cadaveric donor pools., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose.

Objectives: Although the main factors responsible for donor deaths after living-donor liver transplant are liver failure and sepsis, the most common donor complications are associated with the biliary tract., Materials and Methods: Between April 2006 and May 2012, five hundred ninety-three donors underwent living-donor hepatectomy procedures for living-donor liver transplants. The mean age of donors was 31.0 ± 9.9 years and the ratio of men to women was 341:252. Of all donors, 533 (89.9%) underwent a right lobe hepatectomy, 45 (7.6%) underwent a left lateral segmentectomy, and 15 (2.5%) underwent a left hepatectomy., Results: Biliary complications were observed in 51 liver donors (8.6%). Based on the Clavien-Dindo classification, grade I and grade II complications were 3.2% and 0%, while grade IIIa and grade IIIb complications were observed in 3.5% and 1.85% of cases. Right lobe donor biliary complications occurred at the rate of 8.2% in 44 donors. Grade IV and grade V complications were not observed. Grade IIIa complications necessitating radiologic and endoscopic procedures were observed in 21 liver donors (3.5%). Bile leakage unresponsive to medical therapy was detected in 19 donors (3.2%). Nasobiliary catheters were placed in 3 of 19 donors and internal stents were placed in 1. Two sessions of balloon dilatation were performed in the 2 grade IIIb donors (0.33%). Biliary strictures observed in 2 right lobe donors and 1 left lobe donor was treated by hepaticojejunostomy an average of 14 months after surgery., Conclusions: Avoidance of intraoperative issues and early recognition of bile leakage are fundamental in preventing complications in living-donor liver transplant donors.

Background: Donor selection criteria are being continuously modified to expand the potential donor pool in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). This retrospective study reports our center's experience in utilizing extended criteria donors for LDLT., Material and Methods: The charts of 342 LDLT donors who underwent right hepatectomy between September 2007 and December 2010 were reviewed. Donors who were older than 55 years, and/or with BMI >30, and/or with a remnant liver volume of <30% were defined as extended criteria donors. The surgical complications in the extended criteria donors and non-extended criteria donors were compared., Results: There were 61 extended criteria donors (21 male, 40 female; mean age 41 years) and 281 non-extended criteria donors (189 male, 92 female; mean age 31 Years). Surgical morbidities were observed in 70 (20.4%) of donors. The number of patients with complications according to Clavien's system were: Grade I, 30 (43%); Grade II, 11 (16%); Grade IIIa, 12 (17%); Grade IIIb, 16 (23%); and Grade IV, 1 (1%). Postoperative complications were observed in 17 (28%) of 61 extended criteria donors, and 53 (19%) of 281 non-extended donors (p>0.05). However, only the Grade IIIb complication rate in donors with extended criteria was significantly higher than in non-extended criteria donors (p=0.04). Complications developed in 3 of 7 donors aged >55 years and with BMI >30. There was no donor mortality., Conclusions: Although there was no statistical difference between the 2 groups' postoperative complication rates, Grade IIIb complications were statistically significantly higher in the extended group. Having more than 1 extended criteria may increase the donor's postoperative complications in LDLT. Thus, the elimination of the donors should be considered in the presence of more than 1 extended criteria.

Although rare, major congenital defects of the hepatic veins are detectable at autopsy, advanced, noninvasive imaging techniques such as Doppler ultrasonography and multislice computed tomography can accurately define these anomalies. One of these anomalies is congenital absence of the main right hepatic vein. We present a 21-year-old woman living-liver donor candidate with congenital absence of the right hepatic vein who underwent an extended right donor hepatectomy. She was tested for transplant compatibility with her 45-year-old brother, who had chronic liver failure secondary to hepatitis B. Multislice computed tomography revealed an absence of the right hepatic vein, and the right hepatic lobe was drained by 4 inferior hepatic veins with diameters ranging from 4 to 8.4 mm. An extended right-donor hepatectomy was performed. A common-large opening drainage reconstruction model that included all of the inferior hepatic veins and middle hepatic vein was created using the saphenous vein and an aortic homograft. There were no postoperative complications related to hepatic venous drainage thanks to the common-large opening model. We demonstrate that a right donor hepatectomy is feasible in congenital absence of the right hepatic vein solving the drainage problem using common-large opening reconstruction technique.

Background: Treatment of established portal vein narrowing after living donor hepatectomy is challenging. We aimed to present a new approach termed the "elbow patch reconstruction technique" to correct the narrowed remnant portal vein just or late after right lobe living donor hepatectomy. Methods: Demographic and clinical data of 12 living liver donors with narrowed remnant portal veins and treated with the "elbow patch reconstruction technique" were prospectively collected and retrospectively evaluated. Anatomic variation of the portal vein was defined in accordance with the Nakamura classification; six of the living liver donors had type A, three had type B, and the remaining three had type C. In eight of the living liver donors with a narrowed remnant portal vein, diagnosis was detected by intraoperative Doppler ultrasonography and visual inspection by experienced transplant surgeons in the living donor hepatectomy procedure. In the remaining four living liver donors, diagnosis was performed postoperatively when elevation of liver enzymes was noticed during the routine liver function test and Doppler US. The diagnosis was confirmed by multidetector computed tomography. Results: Data from nine males and three females aged 18 to 54 years were analyzed. All of the living liver donors were followed up for a median of 1710 days (min-max: 1178–4447 days; IQR: 1516 days), and none of the living liver donors had any structural or functional complications in the portal vein. Conclusions: Narrowing remnant portal veins are rare, but they are a life-threatening complication in living liver donors, and this condition requires urgent management. Image guided interventions and narrowed segment resection with end-to-end anastomosis using a vascular graft carried a potential risk for thrombosis and restenosis. To avoid these complications, we shared a technique named "elbow patch reconstruction technique". This technique can be very effective in relieving the narrowing of the remnant portal vein after right lobe living donor hepatectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: It is known that obesity is associated with increased complications and early recurrence after cancer surgery. This may also be the case in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who treated with liver transplantation (LT). Methods: This retrospective observational study aimed to investigate the potential impact of pre-transplant body mass index (BMI) on tumor recurrence and disease-free survival (DFS) in patients who underwent LT for HCC. The study analyzed data from 423 HCC patients who underwent LT at the Inonu University Liver Transplant Institute between 2006 and 2023. Results: The median age of the 423 patients included in the study was 56 years (range: 18-72), with 367 (86.8%) of them being male. The median BMI was 26 kg/m2 (range: 16.4-46.9). The recurrence rates were 24.3% in the non-obese group, 18.3% in the overweight group, and 16.7% in the obese group (p=0.239). The mean DFS durations were 8.4 years ± 0.6 in the non-obese group, 8.7 years ± 0.5 in the overweight group, and 9.7 years ± 0.9 in the obese group (p>0.05). Conclusion: This study suggests that obesity should not be considered a predictive factor for HCC recurrence when selecting candidates for liver transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alveolar Echinococcosis (AE) is a zoonotic infestation with aggressive behavior1. Most patients are asymptomatic in the early period, and therefore they are often detected incidentally during radiological examinations performed for other reasons.[1] AE is considered a tumor-like disease because the disease grows in the liver by invading the surrounding tissue and metastasizes to distant organs in some patients.[2] Therefore, resection is recommended in surgical treatment according to oncological principles, that is, with clean surgical margins.[3] The present report aims to present our approach to a patient diagnosed with alveolar echinococcosis, which occupied the right lobe of the liver and included the part of the left hepatic vein flowing into the IVC, was prepared for liver transplantation and was saved from liver transplantation by liver resection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Inflammation and the associated immune pathways are among the most important factors in liver regeneration after living donor hepatectomy. Various biomarkers, especially liver function tests, are used to show liver regeneration. The aim of this study was to evaluate the course of liver regeneration following donor hepatectomy (LDH) by routine and regeneration-related biomarkers. Method: Data from 63 living liver donors (LLDs) who underwent LDH in Inonu University Liver Transplant Institute were prospectively analyzed. Serum samples were obtained on the preoperative day and postoperative days (POD) 1, 3, 5, 10, and 21. Regenerative markers including alfa-fetoprotein (AFP), des carboxy prothrombin (DCP), ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4), and angiotensin-converting enzyme isotype II (ACEII) and liver function tests including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and total bilirubin levels were all analyzed. Results: The median age of the LLDs was 29.7 years and 28 LLDs were female. Eight LLDs developed postoperative complications requiring relaparotomy. The routine laboratory parameters including AST (<0.001), ALT (<0.001), ALP (<0.001), and total bilirubin (<0.001) showed a significant increase over time until postoperative day (POD) 3. For the regeneration-related parameters, except for the RBP4, all parameters including ACEII (p = 0.006), AFP (p = 0.002), DCP (p = 0.007), and ODC (p = 0.002) showed a significant increase in POD3. The regeneration parameters showed a different pattern of change. In right-lobe liver grafts, ACEII (p = 0.002), AFP (p = 0.035), and ODC (p = 0.001) showed a significant increase over time. DCP (p = 0.129) and RBP4 (p = 0.335) showed no significant changes in right-lobe liver grafts. Conclusions: Regenerative markers are increased in a sustained fashion following LDH. This is more prominent following right-lobe grafts which are indicative of progenitor-associated liver regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver transplantation is the lifesaving treatment option for rare acute liver failure that develops due to iatrogenic bile duct injuries or after major hepatectomy. The aim of the study is to analyze patients with acute liver failure due to iatrogenic bile duct injury or major hepatectomy on the waiting list for emergency liver transplantation. Between the years 2011-2020, 9 patients (5 female/4 male; median age: 30 years old, (range:4-63 years)) with acute liver failure related to bile duct injury or major hepatectomy for whom urgent liver transplantation was planned were included in this study. Eight patients were accepted for urgent liver transplantation. Acute liver failure developed in 6 patients due to hepatoduodenal ligament injury during cholecystectomy, and in 3 patients due to major hepatectomy. The patients were listed for urgent transplantation within the mean of 1.5 days (range:0-3 days) after acute liver failure. Two patients had living donor and 1 patient had cadaveric liver transplantation. Acute hepatic failure, especially after iatrogenic bile duct injuries associated with vascular injuries, seems to be more fatal than post hepatectomy liver failure. In these cases of acute liver failure, which is a difficult situation to decide, emergency liver transplantation should be kept in mind as the treatment option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The best known treatment of the colorectal liver metastasis is the complete surgical excision with clean surgical margins. However, liver resections sometimes cannot appear technically feasible due to the high number of metastases in the liver, in cases of recurrent resections or invasion of the tumors to the major vascular structures or neighboring organs. Here, we presented a colorectal recurrent liver metastasis invading the retrohepatic vena cava, right adrenal gland, and right diaphragm. En masse resection of the tumor with caudate hepatectomy combined with vena cava resection and surrounding adrenal and diaphragm resections was accomplished. Caval reconstruction was done by a 5 cm in length cryopreserved vena cava homograft under isolated caval clamping. Postoperative period was uneventful and she was discharged on day 11. As a conclusion, combined liver and vena cava resection for a recurrent colorectal liver metastasis is a feasible procedure even with additional neighboring organ resections. Isolated vena cava occlusion with the preservation of the hepatic blood flow may decrease the risk of liver injury in case of previous chemotherapy for liver metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reveal any difference in terms of heavy metal and antioxidant/oxidant levels of liver tissues obtained from 3 different locations of hepatectomy specimens of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Total hepatectomy materials of patients who underwent liver transplantation for HCC were objects of this study. Three liver tissue samples were obtained from each material, one from HCC tissue, one adjacent from the border of HCC, and one at least 3 cm distant from HCC, each 10 × 10 mm in diameter. Samples are preserved at –70°C. Levels of heavy metals (As, Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, Se, and Zn) and oxidant–antioxidant parameters (catalase, glutathione peroxidase [GSHPx], superoxide dismutase [SOD], nitric oxide, prolidase, glutathione, malondialdehyde, total oxidant status, antioxidant status, oxidative stress index, total-thiol, native thiol, and disulphid) are measured. This study included 22 patients (18 men, 4 women with an age range of 3 to 66 years. There were significant differences in terms of Cd, Pb, Zn, GSHPx, SOD, nitric oxide, and native thiol levels between liver tissues derived from 3 different locations. Cd, Pb, and Zn levels were significantly different in tumor tissues, whereas GSHPx and SOD levels were significantly different in tumor and neighboring tissues. Nitric oxide levels were relatively different in tumor tissues compared with tumor-neighboring tissues. Native thiol levels differed significantly in tumor tissues compared with tissues distant from tumor. The aim of this study is unique in medical literature, which reveals that the amount of heavy metals and antioxidant/oxidant accumulation are variable in the same liver tissue in different locations because of multiple and yet unknown factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early prediction of liver dysfunction after liver resection remains a challenge. We hypothesized that extracellular histone concentrations are a promising new biomarker for the detection of liver injury after donor hepatectomy. This prospective study considered 93 living donors who underwent hepatectomy. Blood samples of donors were collected on postoperative day 1, and histone levels in the plasma samples of the patients were measured with total histone H3 sandwich ELISA kits. Among 86 right lobe donors, 23 (26.7%) were deemed to have a delayed liver function recovery according to the International Study Group of Liver Surgery's definition of posthepatectomy liver failure, whereas 63 (73.3%) were considered to have an adequate liver function recovery. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for circulating histones in predicting persistent liver dysfunction was 0.618 ± 0.06 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.501-0.735; P =.091). The cutoff point value obtained from the analysis of ROC curves was 0.895, with a sensitivity of 95.7% and a specificity of 32.9%, respectively, for examining a delayed liver function recovery (P =.015). The Fisher analysis significantly verified these results empirical influence function % 7.90 (95% CI, 3.91-11.90; P =.006). The univariate analysis determined that postoperative histones were identified as an independent risk factor of delayed liver function recovery (odds ratio, 10.8; 95% CI, 1.4-84.9; P =.024). The circulating histone negatively correlates with liver dysfunctions after donor hepatectomy and had the best value in predicting liver dysfunction within 24 hours after liver resection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]