Auxiliary partial liver transplantation for acute liver failure using "high risk" grafts: Case report

Acute liver failure(ALF) is a reversible disorder that is associated with an abrupt loss of hepatic mass, rapidly progressive encephalopathy and devastating complications. Despite its high mortality, an emergency liver transplantation nowadays forms an integral part in ALF management and has substantially improved the outcomes of ALF. Here, we report the case of a 32-year-old female patient who was admitted with grade Ⅳ hepatic encephalopathy(coma) following drug-induced ALF. We performed an emergency auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation with a "high risk" graft(liver macrovesicular steatosis approximately 40%) from a living donor. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 57 with normal liver function. Weaning from immunosuppression was achieved 9 mo after transplantation. A follow-up using CT scan showed a remarkable increase in native liver volume and gradual loss of the graft. More than 6 years after the transplantation, the female now has a 4-year-old child and has returned to work full-time without any neurological sequelae.

Biliary Cast Syndrome： Hepatic Artery Resistance Index, Pathological Changes, Morphology and Endoscopic Therapy

Background： BiNary cast syndrome （BCS） was a postoperative complication of orthotopic liver transplantation （OLT）, and the reason for BSC was considered to relate with ischemic type biliary lesions. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between BCS following OLT and the hepatic artery resistance index （HARt）, and to observe pathological changes and morphology of biliary casts. Methods： Totally, 18 patients were diagnosed with BCS by cholangiography following OLT using choledochoscope or endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. In addition, 36 patients who did not present with BCS in the corresponding period had detectable postoperative HARI on weeks I, 2, 3 shown by color Doppler flow imaging. The compositions ofbiliary casts were analyzed by pathological examination and scanning electron microscopy. Results： HARI values of the BCS group were significantly decreased as compared with the non-BCS group on postoperative weeks 2 and 3 （P 〈 0.05）. Odds ratio （OR） analysis of HARI 1, HARI 2, HARI 3 following the operation was 〉1 （OR = 1.300： 1.223 and 1.889, respectively）. The OR of HARI 3 was statistically significant （OR - 1.889; 95% confidence interval - 1.166-7.490; P - 0.024）. The compositions of biliary casts were different when bile duct stones wcrc present. Furthermore, vascular epithelial cells were found by pathological examination in binary casts. Conclusions： HARI may possibly serve as an independent risk factor and early predictive factor of BCS. Components and formation of binary casts and bile duct stones are different.