Jejunal Artery Can Be a Useful Option for Arterial Reconstruction in Living Donor Liver Transplantation When the Suitable Arterial Inflow Is Absent

Abstract

Successful arterial reconstruction is essential for liver transplantation. In the case of inadequate arterial inflow, an arterial conduit from the aorta using artery graft or re- establishment of arterial flow through other arteries such as the splenic artery, gastro- epiploic, or sigmoid artery is considered. Herein we report our experience of 27 cases of hepatic artery reconstruction using alternative methods. The most common cause of hepatic artery reconstruction requiring alternative methods was intimal dissection for which we usually used the gastroepiploic artery. Many patients had a previous operation or transarterial chemoembolization history. Among these cases, hepatic artery recon- struction using the jejunal artery was performed for 2 cases of living donor liver trans- plantation due to the absence of suitable alternatives. These patients have been followed up with patent hepatic arterial flow until now. Thus, the jejunal artery can be a useful option for arterial reconstruction in living donor liver transplantation when suitable arterial inflow is absent.