Arcuate ligament compression as a cause of early-onset thrombosis of the hepatic artery after liver transplantation.

Background: Early hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT) is a potentially lethal complication after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) requiring immediate intervention.

Aim: To report an infrequent cause of HAT after OLT and by itself a controversial clinical entity, the median arcuate ligament celiac artery compression.

Case Report: A 59-year-old female with hepatitis C virus-induced cirrhosis, Child B, MELD 15, underwent cadaveric-donor OLT with complete vena cava exclusion. Type 1 hepatic artery anatomy was found both in the donor and the recipient, the gastroduodenal artery was ligated. During the first eight postoperative days, clinical and analytical evolution was satisfactory and Doppler ultrasound showed no abnormalities. On the ninth postoperative day, the patient developed hypovolemic shock due to bleeding at the hepatic artery anastomosis, surgical reconstruction was performed. Postoperative color Doppler showed absent hepatic artery flow and an angiography suggested celiac artery compression. The patient was explored again the same day, liberating the celiac artery from the median arcuate ligament and performing thrombectomy and reconstruction of the hepatic artery anastomosis. The patient made a satisfactory recovery and color Doppler showed adequate flow in the hepatic artery. She is alive, free of biliary complications and enjoying a good quality of life 12 months after transplantation.

Conclusion: Median arcuate ligament celiac artery compression is an infrequent anatomical variant that should be intentionally evaluated in the recipient at the time of arterial reconstruction in OLT and specifically be considered in early HAT to allow recognition and effective correction.