Feasibility of duct-to-duct biliary reconstruction in left-lobe adult-living-donor liver transplantation

Transplantation. 2003 Feb 27;75(4):557-9. doi: 10.1097/01.TP.0000048220.90971.5A.

Abstract

A Roux-en-Y choledochojejunostomy (CDJ) has been the sole method of choice for the reconstruction of the bile duct in living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) using left-lobe grafts. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of duct-to-duct (DD) biliary reconstruction in adult-to-adult LDLT using left-lobe grafts. Between October 1996 and October 2001, 46 adult-to-adult LDLTs using the left lobe were performed at our institution. The DD biliary reconstruction (hepaticocholedochostomy) over a T-tube was performed for seven of the last nine recipients (DD group, n=7), whereas the conventional Roux-en-Y CDJ was used for the remaining cases (CDJ group, n=39). The technical problems and the incidence of biliary complications were compared between the groups. Bile leakage developed in only 1 of 7 (14%) in the DD group (leakage from a T-tube exit site), whereas it occurred in 8 of 39 (20%) in the CDJ group. Up to now, no patients from the DD group developed anastomotic stricture, whereas twelve (30.7%) patients from the CDJ group did. Other complications included bleeding from the Roux-en-Y jejunojejunostomy (n=1) and anastomotic occlusion caused by an internal stent (n=1), and both complications were associated with CDJ. In conclusion, DD anastomosis is a simple and viable option for biliary reconstruction in left-lobe LDLTs. A long-term follow-up, especially regarding the incidence of biliary stricture, is thus warranted in such patients.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Anastomosis, Roux-en-Y
  • Bile Ducts / surgery*
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Liver Transplantation / methods*
  • Living Donors
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Plastic Surgery Procedures