Prolonged recovery after extended right hepatic lobectomy in a patient with severe blunt liver injury and laceration of the vena cava. A report of case with special references to autotransfusion and complications of biliary decompression.

A patient with severe blunt liver injury and laceration of the vena cava who underwent a successful extended right hepatic lobectomy is reported. The use of autotransfusion unit saved the patient from exsanguination. His postoperative course was complicated by renal and hepatic failure, bile leakage, and persistent jaundice due to cholangitis. Prolonged choledochal drainage via T-tube obviously acted as a source of infection. The use of autotransfusion, choledochal drainage and the proper timing of its removal, the treatment of vena cava lesions and jaundice due to cholangitis in patients with severe liver trauma are discussed.