Acute Hepatic Coma Treated by Cross Circulation With Irreversibly Comatose Donor

A patient developed acute hepatic failure and encephalopathy after massive resection of the liver for a primary hepatic neoplasm. Coma deepened despite medical therapy and exchange transfusion, but responded dramatically to cross circulation with an irreversibly brain-damaged individual. The patient survived 20 days following crosscirculation therapy, which allowed time for complete hepatic regeneration, but she ultimately died from recurrent infection and portal-vein thrombosis. The cross-circulation procedure is safe, effective, and technically simple to perform.