Graft regeneration and host liver atrophy after auxiliary heterotopic liver transplantation for chronic liver failure

✍ Scribed by Pierre J. A. Willemse; Lambert Ausema; Onno T. Terpstra; Eric P. Krenning; Fibo W. J. Ten Kate; Solko W. Schalm

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1992
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 433 KB
• Volume: 15
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0270-9139
• DOI: 10.1002/hep.1840150111

✦ Synopsis

AND SOLKO W. SCHALM~

We studied the size of the liver graft and the host liver in six consecutive patients undergoing auxiliary heterotopic liver transplantation for chronic endstage liver disease. In all cases, a liver reduced in size by left lateral hepatectomy was inserted. The sizes of the graft and host liver were estimated by planimetry of two-dimensional di-isopropyl iminodiacetic acid scintigrams taken 3, 7, 21, 90 and 180 days after surgery.

Graft size increased from a mean of 12.2 cm2 (95% confidence interval = 10.2 to 14.1) on day 3 to a maximum of 14.8 cm2 (95% confidence interval = 13.4 to 16.1) on day 21 and remained stable thereafter; in contrast, the host liver decreased in size from 9.6 cm2 (95% confidence interval = 6.8 to 12.3) on day 3 to 3.9 cm2 (95% confidence interval = 3.0 to 4.8) at mo 6.

We conclude that in patients with chronic liver failure, an auxiliary allograft reduced in size and placed adjacent to the host liver shows regenerative growth within 3 wk, whereas the host liver atrophies in 3 to 6 mo. (HEPATOLOGY 1992;15:54-57.)