• Chao-Long Chen, Yu-Fan Cheng, Viola Huang, Ting-Lung Lin, Yi-Chia Chan, Hsin-You Ou, Chee-Chien Yong, Shih-Ho Wang, and Chih-Che Lin.
• Department of Surgery, Liver Transplantation Center, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
• Ann. Surg. 2018 Mar 1; 267 (3): e42-e44.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of the P4 stump stenting approach for treating portal vein (PV) complications in pediatric living donor liver transplantation (LDLT).BackgroundPV complications cause significant morbidity and mortality in pediatric LDLT. Biliary atresia in the backdrop of pathological PV hypoplasia and sclerosis heightens the complexity of PV reconstruction. The authors developed a novel approach for intraoperative PV stenting via the graft segment 4 PV stump (P4 stump) to address this challenge.MethodsFrom April 2009 to December 2016, 15 pediatric LDLT recipients (mean age 10.3 ± 5.0 months, mean graft-recipient weight ratio 3.70%) underwent intraoperative stenting for suboptimal PV flow (<10 cm/s) or PV occlusion after collateral ligation and graft repositioning. Under portography, metallic stents were deployed via the reopened P4 stump of the left lateral segment grafts.ResultsPV diameter and peak flow increased significantly after stent placement (2.93 ± 1.74 to 7.01 ± 0.91 mm and 2.0 ± 9.2 to 17.3 ± 3.5 cm/s, respectively, P = 0.001 for both), and there were no technical failures. Stents in all surviving patients remained patent up to 8 years (mean 27.7 months), with no vascular or biliary complications. After implementation of the P4 approach, the incidence of variceal bleeding as a late complication decreased from 7% to zero.ConclusionThe P4 stump stenting approach affords procedural convenience, ease of manipulation, and consistent results with the potential for excellent long-term patency in children despite continued growth. This technique obviates the need for more demanding post-transplant stenting, and may become a substitute for complicated revision surgery, portosystemic shunting, or retransplantation.

35 keywords...

hide…