Safety and efficacy of splenic artery embolization for portal hyperperfusion in liver transplant recipients: a 5-year experience.

Severe portal hyperperfusion (PHP) after liver transplantation has been shown to cause intrahepatic arterial vasoconstriction secondary to increased adenosine washout (hepatic artery buffer response). Clinically, posttransplant PHP can cause severe cases of refractory ascites and hydrothorax. In the past, we reported our preliminary experience with the use of splenic artery embolization (SAE) as a way to reduce PHP.

Safety and effectiveness of renoportal bypass in patients with complete portal vein thrombosis: an analysis of 10 patients.

The presence of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is still considered by many transplantation centers to be an absolute contraindication to liver transplantation because of the technical difficulties that it can present and its association with a higher rate of patient morbidity and mortality. Renoportal bypass (RPB) can help to remove these barriers. This study describes our institution's experience with RPB through the description of a new and successful simplified surgical strategy, a patient and graft outcome analysis, intraoperative vascular flow measurements, and the use of splenic artery embolization (SAE) as an effective adjunct for treating sporadic cases of unrelieved portal hypertension.

Endoscopic duodenal "windsock" diverticulotomy.

A 49-year-old woman presented with a 3-month history of nausea, vomiting, and weight loss. Her symptoms were severe, and she required total parenteral nutrition for nutrition support. Both CT and barium upper GI series demonstrated a large "windsock" diverticulum that obstructed the duodenal lumen.

Duodenoduodenostomy in pancreas transplantation.

Enteric drainage (ED) using duodenojejunostomy (DJ) is an established technique in pancreatic transplantation. Duodenoduodenostomy (DD), an alternative ED technique, may provide unique advantages over DJ. We compared our experience with these two types of ED through a retrospective review of all pancreas transplants performed at our institution from November 2007 to November 2009.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the base of the tongue: Late metastasis to the pancreas.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is a relatively rare epithelial tumor of the salivary glands. We present a 64-year-old gentleman with ACC of the tongue who following resection and radiotherapy, presented 10 years later with a lung metastasis and underwent operative intervention and further radiotherapy. Five years later he presented with obstructive jaundice found to be metastatic ACC.

Duct-to-duct biliary reconstruction in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis undergoing liver transplantation.

Background: Reconstruction of biliary drainage after liver transplantation (LTx) in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) has been a matter of controversy. Over recent years, the traditional method of Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy (RY) has been challenged by duct-to-duct (DD) biliary reconstruction.

Methods: This study represents a retrospective review of biliary complications, patient and graft survival after LTx in PSC patients based on type of biliary reconstruction.

Short segment aortic endarterectomy--a technique to aid cannulation in donors with severe aorto-iliac disease.

Cannulation of the abdominal aorta in older donors with advanced atherosclerotic disease is challenging and may lead to dissection or plaque embolization. We describe a different technique, short segment aortic endarterectomy, which can be a useful alternative during organ procurement. It permits safer cannulation and securing of atherosclerotic infrarenal aortas, thereby allowing us to flush and safely use organs that otherwise would have been discarded.

Is impaired hepatic arterial buffer response a risk factor for biliary anastomotic stricture in liver transplant recipients?

Background: Blood flow to the liver is partly maintained by the hepatic arterial buffer response (HABR), which is an intrinsic autoregulatory mechanism. Temporary clamping of the portal vein (PV) results in augmentation in hepatic artery flow (augHAF). Portal hyperperfusion impairs HAF due to the HABR in liver transplantation (LT).

Liver transplantation at Cleveland Clinic.

This review describes our program and its outcomes and then provides an in-depth focuses into many of the unique aspects of our practice that have been important to the success of the program. These include a global appreciation for the impact and various presentations of chronic portal hypertension. We have sought to better understand and describe the various effects it can have on local allograft hemodynamics and graft survival.

Safety and efficacy of sonographic-guided random real-time core needle biopsy of the liver.

Purpose: To determine the safety and efficacy of real-time, sonographic-guided, random percutaneous needle biopsy of the liver in a tertiary medical center.

Method: From an IRB-approved biopsy database, all patients who had random liver biopsy performed over a 24-month period were selected. In 350 patients, 539 random percutaneous needle biopsies of the liver were performed under real-time sonographic visualization.

Side-to-side cavocavostomy with an endovascular stapler: Rescue technique for severe hepatic vein and/or inferior vena cava outflow obstruction after liver transplantation using the piggyback technique.

Venous outflow obstruction is a rare but potentially lethal complication after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) with the "piggyback" technique. Therapeutic options include angioplasty with or without stent placement, surgical reconstruction of the venous anastomosis, and retransplantation. Surgical options are technically very challenging and the outcomes discouraging.

Common bile duct injury during urologic laparoscopy.

Iatrogenic injuries to the extrahepatic biliary tract are rare during urologic laparoscopy. A few cases of gallbladder injury have been reported; however, to our knowledge, no instance of common bile duct (CBD) injury during urologic laparoscopy has hitherto been described. Out of 2866 transperitoneal laparoscopic urologic procedures between 1997 and 2007, we present two patients who sustained iatrogenic CBD injury, one during laparoscopic anterior pelvic exenteration and Indiana pouch diversion, and the other during laparoscopic partial nephrectomy.

Triple-phase computed tomography and intraoperative flow measurements improve the management of portosystemic shunts during liver transplantation.

Ligation of portosystemic shunts in patients with cirrhosis undergoing liver transplantation has been recommended to avoid insufficient portal vein (PV) flow. Shunts are not always recognized pretransplantation because intraoperative PV flow assessment is not routinely attempted. As a result of a posttransplantation PV thrombosis in a recipient with a large portosystemic shunt and a PV flow <1 L/minute, we employed triple-phase computed tomography with vascular reconstruction and intraoperative graft flow measurement to determine the need for inflow modification in our next 16 patients with large portosystemic shunts.

Isolated right hepatic vein obstruction after piggyback liver transplantation.

The "piggyback" technique for liver transplantation has gained worldwide acceptance. Still, complications such as outflow obstruction have been observed, usually attributable to technical errors such as small-caliber anastomosis of the suprahepatic vena cava, twisting, or kinking. Iatrogenic Budd-Chiari syndrome after piggyback liver transplantation has been reported as a consequence of obstruction involving the entire anastomosis (usually the 3 hepatic veins).

Endometriosis of the liver containing mullerian adenosarcoma: case report.

We present a case of a liver endometrioma in a postmenopausal woman. After failed management with leuprolide acetate, the mass was resected and contained focal areas of mullerian adenosarcoma. This is a rare case of mullerian adenosarcoma that appeared to arise within an endometrioma of the liver.

Advances in pediatric liver transplantation: continuous monitoring of portal venous and hepatic artery flow with an implantable Doppler probe.

Background: Acute vascular thrombosis is a dreaded complication in solid organ transplantation. Pediatric liver transplantation is associated with a high incidence of hepatic artery thrombosis. Graft salvage is dependent upon early recognition and correction of the thrombosis.