A correlation between the graft volume evaluation and the prognosis in consideration of hepatic "compliance" in living donor liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim is to clarify the correlation between the hepatic compliance and prognosis of the patients who underwent LDLT.

METHODOLOGY

Volumetry was performed using a 3D volume analyzer. The hepatic compliance was evaluated based on the difference between the estimated total liver volume in the arterial phase and venous phase (n=66). The correlations among the hepatic compliance, donor background factors and the recipient's prognosis were evaluated.

RESULTS

Fourteen cases (21%) presented with a more than 5% increase in volume during the venous phase than in the arterial phase, and 12 of these recipients were still alive. There was a significant increase in death among recipients from donors age 60 years old and older (5/7, 71.4%, p<0.01). In these cases, the hepatic compliance was significantly different between the deceased cases and the surviving cases; while there was no hepatic compliance in the five deceased cases, favorable hepatic compliance was observed in two of the surviving cases (p<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Hepatic compliance appears to exist. The poor prognosis of liver grafts in recipients from elderly donors may be attributable to hepatic compliance, and assessing the hepatic compliance may be useful for preoperative liver graft evaluation.