Donor vascular grafts for arterial reconstruction in pediatric liver transplantation.

The authors compared the results of 48 orthotopic liver transplantations (OLT) in which revascularization was achieved with a conduit interposed between the receptor aorta and the graft (vascular graft [VG] group) with those obtained for 56 OLT performed during the same period (1991 to 1994) in which end-to-end anastomosis (EEA) of the hepatic arteries or celiac trunk was used (EEA group). In the VG group, the interposed conduits were the cadaveric iliac artery (37) the living-donor saphenous vein (3), or nonthrombosed conduits from previous transplants (8) (7 iliac arteries, 1 saphenous vein). There were significant differences between the two groups with respect to recipient age, recipient weight, the retransplant:first transplant ratio, the number of emergency transplantations, the use of reduced-size grafts, and intraoperative transfusion requirements. Twenty-nine grafts in the VG group (60.4%) and 43 in the EEA group (76.7%) currently are functioning. The actuarial 3-year graft survival rates are 60% and 71.5% for the VG and EEA groups (P < .05), respectively. The rate of arterial thrombosis did not differ between the two groups. The authors conclude that, although EEA of the hepatic artery is still the preferred revascularization technique for OLT, revascularization of the liver graft by conduit interposition is safe when EEA is not possible. Reutilization of the interposed conduit during retransplantation proved to be safe in the absence of hepatic artery thrombosis.