Complications of Venous Reconstruction in Human Orthotopic Liver Transplantation

In 313 consecutive recipients of 393 orthotopic liver grafts, there were 51 (16.3%) and nine (2.9%) patients who had pre-existing portal vein and inferior vena cava abnormalities, respectively. These abnormalities required adjustments in the transplant operation and were a source of morbidity and mortality. The incidence of thrombosis of the reconstructed portal vein was 1.8%. Only three (0.8%) vena caval thromboses were seen after 393 liver replacements. Venous stenoses or disruptions were rare. Six women with the Budd-Chiari syndrome had liver replacement. Although this disorder is a veno-occlusive disease, five of the recipients achieved prolonged survival, only one had recurrence of disease, and three are alive after 2-6 years.