[CT volumetry of the liver before transplantation].

PURPOSE

Purpose of the study was to assess the predictive accuracy of preoperative CT volumetry for water displacement volume after liver transplantation.

METHODS

In a retrospective study the liver volume of 52 patients who underwent an orthotopic liver transplantation, was calculated preoperatively based on incremental and spiral computed tomography (CT). The calculated values were compared with the liver volume measured by water displacement and weight of the extirpated liver.

RESULTS

Marked differences of 19-21.5% were seen between calculated CT volume and water displacement volume for the entire group, and of 12.4-16.9% for livers with a plausible physical liver density (0.9 and 1.1 g/cm3). In this group, 68-86% of the livers were in the acceptable tolerance range for a predictive accuracy (+10% to -20%). Other error sources, such as the breathing shift of the abdominal organs and interobserver variability (1.5-2.7%), were of minor importance for volume calculation.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, both incremental CT and spiral CT are reliable methods for the preoperative estimation of the liver volume, whereas best accordance with the corrected water displacement volume was obtained using the individual segmentation thresholds.