Incidence and clinical manifestations of arterial complications of liver transplantation. Personal experience with 57 transplants

The vascular complication remains one of the main cause of graft failure after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Its incidence has been documented between 5-18%. Due to its lethal evolution, the early diagnosis and emergency treatment are crucial: early retransplantation, arterial reconstruction.

Seven out of 57 OLT (12.2%) performed in 53 patients developed arterial complications: 4 arterial thrombosis (7.0%),--3 were retransplanted--; 3 ruptured arterial aneurysms and 1 child who developed hemobilia secondary to an arterio-biliary fistula. The clinical presentation of hepatic artery thrombosis was related with the post-transplant time.

ue to the variability in the clinical presentation of this complication, angiographic study should be performed in any episode of unexplained graft dysfunction.

CITATION Rev Med Univ Navarra. 1995 Apr-Jun;40(2):110-4