Incidence and risk factors of late recurrence in patients with salivary gland cancer.

OBJECTIVES: Recurrence in the late post-treatment period is relatively common in salivary gland cancer (SGC), but risk factors and survival associated with late recurrence have been rarely studied. We investigated the incidence and risk factors of SGC recurrence >5 years after treatment and associated survival. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study. SETTING: University hospital. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 240 patients with previously untreated SGC who underwent definitive treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Late recurrence was defined as recurrence at a time point >5 years after treatment. Univariate and multivariable analyses were used to identify the association of clinicopathologic factors with recurrence-free survival (RFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS) and late recurrence. RESULTS: Of the 240 patients, 124 (51.7%) patients developed recurrence during a median follow-up of 160.0 months (range 121.5-282.2 months). Sixteen (6.7%) patients developed late recurrence; the median time to late recurrence was 92.5 months (range 60.2-138.3 months) after treatment. Multivariable analysis showed that primary site, histologic grade and N classification were independent variables of both RFS and CSS (P < 0.05 each). Extraparenchymal extension was also an independent variable of CSS (P = 0.022). In addition, a non-parotid tumour location was a significant factor for late recurrence in multivariable analysis (P = 0.017). The median overall survival after the development of late recurrence was 79.7 months (range 0.2-163.4 months), significantly longer than that after early recurrence (19.7 months) (P = 0.043). CONCLUSION: Late recurrence occurs in some SGC patients. Long-term close surveillance may be required for patients with non-parotid SGC.

Acute Graft-vs-Host Disease After Liver Transplantation: Experience at a High-volume Liver Transplantation Center in Korea.

BACKGROUND: Acute graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) is a rare but life-threatening complication of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). We present 6 cases of GVHD after OLT. METHODS: Among our 4294 OLT recipients, we identified 6 patients (0.14%) who were diagnosed with GVHD. Their medical records were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: Liver graft types included deceased donor whole liver graft (n = 3) and right liver graft from son (n = 3). Mean recipient and donor ages were 57.2 ± 6.6 years and 32.7 ± 10.8 years, respectively. Onset of GVHD symptoms occurred 14 to 32 days after OLT, and initial symptoms were skin rash (n = 5) and fever (n = 1). GVHD was pathologically confirmed by skin or rectal biopsy. Chimerism of donor lymphocytes was identified in all 3 patients who underwent the short tandem repeat polymerase chain reaction assay. Attempts were made to treat the GVHD in all 6 patients by corticosteroids with or without low-dose calcineurin inhibitor, but we had to stop early or reduce these agents due to aggravation of pancytopenia and septic complications. Ultimately, 5 patients died 6 to 106 days after the onset of GVHD, and only 1 patient recovered. This surviving patient was diagnosed earlier and had been administered the recommended dosage of corticosteroid for a longer period with aggressive infection prophylaxis compared to the other cases. CONCLUSIONS: Because of very poor outcomes of GVHD after OLT, early diagnosis and vigorous treatment should be emphasized, although no effective treatment modality has been established yet. We strongly suggest performing aggressive infection prophylaxis during GVHD treatment.

Survival Benefit of Early Cancer Detection Through Regular Endoscopic Screening for De Novo Gastric and Colorectal Cancers in Korean Liver Transplant Recipients.

BACKGROUND: De novo malignancy is not uncommon after liver transplantation (LT). Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignancies in both the Korean general population and LT recipients, and colorectal cancer prevalence is gradually increasing. METHODS: Among 3690 adult recipients who underwent LT from January 1999 and December 2013, the screening patterns and prognosis of 26 cases of gastric cancer and 22 cases of colorectal cancer were analyzed. RESULTS: For gastric cancer, the mean patient age was 54.6 ± 6.2 years at LT and 59.5 ± 6.7 years at cancer diagnosis, with a post-transplant interval of 60.2 ± 29.8 months. Patients were divided into regular (n = 18) and non-regular (n = 8) screening groups, with early cancer found in 14 and 0 patients; their 2-year survival rates after cancer diagnosis were 93.1% and 33.3% (P = .006), respectively. Endoscopic resection was successfully performed in 8 patients, all in the regular screening group. For colorectal cancer, the mean patient age was 53.3 ± 6.1 years at LT and 58.1 ± 6.7 years at cancer diagnosis, with a post-transplant interval of 54.3 ± 38.0 months. Patients were divided into regular (n = 19) and non-regular (n = 3) screening groups, with early cancer found in 12 and 0 patients; their 2-year survival rates after cancer diagnosis of 92.3% and 33.3% (P = .003), respectively. Endoscopic resection was successfully performed in 6 patients, all in the regular screening group. CONCLUSIONS: LT recipients are strongly advised to undergo regular screening studies for various de novo malignancies, especially cancers common in the general population. Regular endoscopic screening contributes to the timely detection of gastric and colorectal cancers, improving post-treatment survival outcomes.

Impact of co-existent thyroiditis on clinical outcome in papillary thyroid carcinoma with high preoperative serum antithyroglobulin antibody: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of co-existent chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis (CLT) on changes in serum antithyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) and clinical outcome in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients with high preoperative serum TgAb. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study. SETTING: University teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-seven PTC patients with high preoperative serum TgAb level (≥100 U/mL) were evaluated. All patients underwent total thyroidectomy followed by high-dose I-131 ablation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Per cent changes of TgAb between pre-treatment and post-treatment, and disease-free survival were calculated. RESULTS: Twenty-two patients (59.5%) had co-existent CLT, and seven had residual/recurrent tumours. There was a higher proportion of females among the patients with CLT compared to those without CLT (95.5% versus 66.7%; P = 0.0306). There were trends towards more aggressive pathologies, such as tumour size, extrathyroidal extension, surgical margin and lymph node stage, in PTC without CLT than in that with co-existent CLT. Pre-treatment and post-treatment TgAb were all higher in PTC with co-existent CLT. But, per cent changes of TgAb between pre-treatment and post-treatment were no significant difference between PTC with and without CLT (P < 0.05). Patients with co-existent CLT showed a significantly lower residual/recurrent tumour rate than those without CLT (4.5% versus 40%; P = 0.0113). CONCLUSION: Residual/recurrent tumour rate was lower in PTC patients with co-existent CLT than in those without CLT.

Liver transplantation in Korea: past, present, and future.

PURPOSE: This study reviewed the past and present status of liver transplantation (LT) and outlooks for the future of LT in Korea. METHOD: The first LT in Korea was successfully performed using a deceased donor graft in 1988. Pediatric and adult living donor liver transplantations (LDLTs) were initiated in 1994 and 1997, respectively. From 1988 to 2013, 10,581 LTs were performed at 40 centers, whereas LDLT accounted for 76.5% of all LTs. RESULTS: In the early 1990s, the deceased organ donation rate was less than 1.5 per million population (PMP) per year, but it increased to 5 PMP beginning in 2008. Despite the increasing number of deceased donor liver transplantations (DDLTs), high prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-induced cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has provoked persistent performance of adult LDLT with technical advancement including middle hepatic vein (MHV) reconstruction of right lobe graft and dual graft LDLT with 1 nationwide donor mortality. CONCLUSION: The number of LTs in Korea in 2010 was 23.2 PMP (1042 LTs/45 million population), lower than 23.5 PMP of Spain, but higher than 20 PMP of the United States. However, future LT numbers may decrease because of lowering the HBV carrier rate (neonatal HBV universal vaccination began in 1992), new potent anti-HBV agents, and lowest birth rate (1.22 children per family) with a decrease of potential live donors.

Long-term survival analysis of liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma with bile duct tumor thrombus.

BACKGROUND: Long-term prognosis of liver transplantation (LT) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with macroscopic bile duct tumor thrombus (BDTT) has not been well assessed. This study intended to analyze the post-transplantation outcomes in patients who had HCC with macroscopic BDTT. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed with 14 patients who underwent LT for HCC with BDTT (0.7%) after selection from an institutional database of 2052 adult LT cases. RESULTS: Types of LT were living donor LT in 13 and deceased donor LT in 1. The extents of BDTT were Ueda type 1 in 4, type 2 in 3, and type 3 in 7. Milan criteria were met in 8 (57.1%). Concurrent bile duct resection was performed in 7 (50%). Mean model for end-stage liver disease score was 18.7 ± 4.9. Mean graft-recipient weight ratio was 1.2 ± 0.3. There was one case of perioperative mortality and one case of HCC-unrelated late mortality. Cumulative HCC recurrence rates were 15.4% at 1 year, 46.2% at 3 years, and 46.2% at 5 years. Overall patient survival rates were 92.9% at 1 year, 57.1% at 3 years, and 50% at 5 years. Univariate risk factor analyses revealed that only macrovascular invasion was a significant risk factor for HCC recurrence (P = .019). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study revealed that LT for HCC with macroscopic BDTT has a high risk of post-transplantation HCC recurrence; therefore, further large-volume studies are necessary to elucidate the risk factors.

Complications analysis of polytetrafluoroethylene grafts used for middle hepatic vein reconstruction in living-donor liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND: We previously showed that ringed polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts combined with small allograft patches showed high patency rates similar to those of iliac vein grafts and therefore that they can be used for middle hepatic vein (MHV) reconstruction. Although such use of PTFE graft showed high patency rates, its long-term safety regarding infection and other types of complications were not presented. In this study, we investigated the actual risk of complications directly associated with PTFE graft interposition for MHV reconstruction. METHODS: During the study period of 30 months, we performed 215 cases of adult living-donor liver transplantation with modified right lobe graft and PTFE grafts. We classified the potential complications directly associated with PTFE graft interposition as infectious and surgical complications. The medical records of study patients were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: MHV graft patency rate was 76.3% at 6 months and 36.7% at 12 months. Their 1-year graft and patient survival rates were 92.6% and 93.5%, respectively. The 1-year actual incidences of infectious complication and surgical complication were near zero and 1 case (0.5%), respectively. In 1 recipient, the PTFE graft penetrated into the stomach wall 6 months after transplantation, but the patient did not complain of any specific symptoms. The PTFE graft was removed with the use of laparotomy, and the patient recovered uneventfully. CONCLUSIONS: Although the incidence of PTFE graft-associated complication rate is very low, we suggest that it is necessary to closely monitor the PTFE graft, because unexpected complications can happen during long-term follow-up.

Prognostic value of metastatic nodal volume and lymph node ratio in patients with cervical lymph node metastases from an unknown primary tumor.

OBJECTIVE: The presence of metastatic cervical lymph nodes (MCNs) is an unfavorable prognostic factor in head and neck cancer. The total volume of MCNs (MNV) and the lymph node ratio (LNR) may be superior to conventional nodal staging in cervical metastasis from an unknown primary tumor (CUP). We evaluated the prognostic value of MNV and LNR in CUP patients. METHODS: Thirty-nine patients with CUP who underwent surgery plus postoperative radiotherapy were reviewed. MNV was measured by preoperative computed tomography and LNR was determined using neck dissection samples. The association of clinicopathologic factors, MNV, and LNR with disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) was analyzed. RESULTS: Five-year DFS and OS were 68.4 and 70.8%, respectively, for a median follow-up of 49 months. In multivariate analysis, MNV (>30 ml) was an independent prognostic factor for both DFS and OS (p = 0.004 and p < 0.001, respectively). LNR (>0.14) was identified as an independent predictive factor for DFS (p = 0.041). CONCLUSION: MNV and LNR are independent prognostic factors in patients with CUP and could facilitate the identification of high-risk patients requiring intensive treatment and surveillance.

Role of hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery in living-donor right liver harvest.

OBJECTIVE: The cosmetic aspects of abdominal skin incisions are a matter of concern for both live liver donors and surgeons. We performed a prospective comparative study on the use of minilaparotomy to perform right liver graft harvests with and without hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery (HALS). METHODS: Young donors were indicated for surgery using minilaparotomy with or without HALS. In the non-HALS group (n = 20), a 10-12-cm-long right subcostal incision was used for right liver graft harvest. In the HALS group (n = 20), an 8-cm-sized right subcostal incision was used for hand assistance and 3 laparoscopic holes made for manipulation. The retrohepatic inferior vena cava (IVC) was initially laparoscopically dissected while using air inflation. The skin incision was extended to 10-12 cm, and then hilar dissection and hepatic transection were performed through the skin incision. RESULTS: In all 40 donors in the study cohort, safe uneventful harvesting of the right liver grafts was successfully achieved through the minilaparotomy incisions. The HALS group required an additional 30 minutes for laparoscopic preparation and dissection compared with the non-HALS group. HALS facilitated retrohepatic IVC dissection, and the remaining part of the surgery was the same as that for minimal-incision surgery. The minimal skin incision for the delivery of the liver from the abdomen was an average 10 cm for grafts <500 g and 12 cm for grafts ≥700 g. Compared with the patient profiles, there were no differences regarding donor age, body mass index, graft weight, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative increase in peak liver enzymes, total hospital stay, and incidence of postoperative complications. CONCLUSIONS: HALS facilitates the performance of donor hepatectomy with the use of a minimal incision, which probably allows for a wider selection of living donors.

Survival rates among patients awaiting deceased donor liver transplants at a single high-volume Korean center.

BACKGROUND: Since the establishment of the Korean Network for Organ Sharing (KONOS) in 2000, thousands of patients have been enrolled on the waiting list, but only a small proportion have received a deceased donor liver transplantation. This report on waiting list mortality in Korea based on data from a single institution. METHODS: The 1772 patients enrolled on the waiting list between February 2000 and December 2011 either have not yet received at the time of analysis or have died before receiving an organ. Survival information was obtained in February 2012 by reviewing medical records or by telephone. We excluded patients who died immediately after enrollment or after retransplantation. RESULTS: Primary diagnoses of those awaiting transplantation were hepatitis B virus-associated cirrhosis (63.7%), alcoholic liver disease (14.3%), hepatitis C virus-associated cirrhosis (13.8%), and acute liver failure due to other causes (8.1%). The priority status of patients on the waiting list was KONOS status 1 (highest priority) in 3.8%, status 2A in 3.9%, status 2B in 41.9%, status 3 to 7 (lowest priority) in 50.5%. Their median survival periods were 1, 1, 18, and 59 months, respectively. The mean Child-Pugh score was 8.5 ± 2.5 and Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score 18.1 ± 9.8. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with high MELD scores or hepatocellular carcinoma succumbed soon after being entered on to the waiting list. By increasing organ donation rates and developing a risk-based allocation system, it should be possible to reduce mortality among patients on organ waiting lists.

Unification venoplasty to cope with recipient portal vein anomaly during living donor liver transplantation.

PURPOSE: To cope with recipient portal vein (PV) anomalies, such as early branching of the right posterior section (RPS), during living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) surgery, we performed a simulation study to standardize the surgical technique for unification portal venoplasty. METHODS: This study included an observational analysis of conventional methods utilizing RPS PV, simulation-based design of a new surgical technique, and clinical application of this new technique. RESULTS: In a case encountering RPS PV, a mild anastomotic PV stenosis was persistent over 6 months postsurgery, indicating the need for technical refinement. After computational simulation analysis, we found that simple suturing of the PV branch patch automatically resulted in a funnel-shaped elongation. A prospective recipient study (n = 30) indicated that usual PV reconstruction via the PV bifurcation method is feasible in the absence of unusual donor or recipient PV anomaly. Retrospective living donor PV anatomy analysis (n = 20) revealed that 20-mm-long limbs of the first-order PV branches are necessary to make a 10- to l5-mm-long funneled PV stump. This technique of unification venoplasty for an anomalous recipient PV was applied to an adult patient undergoing LDLT with a right liver graft, for which it was shown to be technically feasible and effective. CONCLUSIONS: A simplified unification venoplasty technique was developed to cope with a recipient PV anomaly in adult LDLT.

Long-term survival outcomes for living donor liver transplant recipients with pathologically nonviable hepatocellular carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Complete necrosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) lesions has occasionally been found by explant pathology after pretransplant neoadjuvant treatment. This study sought to investigate the long-term prognostic effect of loss of tumor viability after HCC treatment in living donor liver transplant (LDLT) recipients. METHODS: We reviewed retrospectively the 5-year records of 37 patients who demonstrated nonviable HCC on explant pathology. RESULTS: The most common primary disease was hepatitis-B-virus-associated liver cirrhosis (n = 34). Single explant tumors were found in 29 patients; the mean maximal tumor size was 2.1 ± 0.9 cm (range: 0.8-4.0). No patients showed microvascular invasion. The median level of alpha-fetoprotein was 12 ng/mL (range: 1-1160). The 1 patient who showed a recurrence at 20 months remains alive more than 6 years after adrenalectomy and repeated pulmonary metastasectomy. The 5-year HCC recurrence rate was thus 2.1%. There were 2 late mortalities, each due to graft failure and recurrent gastric cancer. The overall patient survival rate was 97.3% at 5 and 92.7% at 10 years. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study revealed that the loss of tumor viability induced by pretransplant neoadjuvant treatment definitely decreased the risk of post-transplant HCC recurrence. Therefore, patients with nonviable HCC can be regarded as members of a superselect group with minimal risk for HCC recurrence, and may be exempted from routine HCC screening.

Long-term outcome of liver transplantation for combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma.

PURPOSE: Combined hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocellular carcinoma (CCC) is a rare pair of intrahepatic malignancies. Differential diagnosis among combined HCC-CCC, HCC, or CCC can be difficult; thus malignancies other than ordinary HCC are occasionally encountered unexpectedly in explanted liver specimens. The present study analyzed the long-term outcomes of liver transplantation (OLT) among patients with HCC-CCC. METHODS: Between January 1999 and December 2009, we performed 2137 adult OLT at our institution including 15 cases of pathologically confirmed HCC-CCC, who all underwent OLT with a pretransplant diagnosis of HCC. We reviewed retrospectively the medical records of these 15 patients. RESULTS: Their mean age was 58.9 ± 7.2 years. The median preoperative alpha-fetoprotein level was 32.6 ng/mL. Fourteen patients underwent living donor and one deceased donor OLT. The Milan criteria were met in 12 cases. A single tumor was identified in 8 and multiple lesions in 7 patients. The maximal tumor diameter was 2.9 ± 1.7 cm. Seven patients experienced tumor recurrences: including 6 within the first 12 months. All of the patients who experienced recurrences died at a median 4 months after that diagnosis. The overall patient survival rates were 66.7% at 1 year and 60.0% at 3 and 5 years. Disease-free patient survival rates were 60.0% at 1 year and 53.3% at 3 and 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with combined HCC-CCC showed a high rate of early recurrences, particularly within the first year.

Risk-based long-term screening for hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence after living donor liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND: This study sought to establish an actual risk-based long-term screening protocol for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence after liver transplantation (OLT). METHODS: The study was a retrospective review of medical records from 334 HCC patients who underwent primary living donor OLT and followed up for at least 5 years. RESULTS: Overall 10-year patient survival rate was 67.5%, with a 4.8% perioperative mortality. HCC recurred in 68/318 (21.4%) surviving patients over a mean follow-up of 77 months. HCC recurrence was 20.7% at 5 and 22.2% at 10 years. Annual recurrence rates were 11.4%, 6.6%, and 2.0% during the first, second, and third years, respectively. Among patients within Milan criteria, the annual incidence of HCC recurrence was highest during the first 3 years; thereafter only 6 sporadic recurrences were observed during next 8 years. Among subjects beyond Milan criteria, recurrence was common during, but not after 3 years. In 43 patients (63.2%) increased alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was an initial indication to perform further imaging studies to diagnosis recurrence, whereas they were detected incidentally on protocol screening imaging among another 25 patients (36.8%) in the absence of an AFP rise. There was a close correlation between pretransplant AFP level and AFP increase after HCC recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Patients beyond the Milan criteria require frequent tumor marker tests and imaging studies over the first 3 years; and those within Milan criteria require 10-years to follow-up primarily with tumor marker tests.

No-touch en bloc right lobe living-donor liver transplantation with inferior vena cava replacement for hepatocellular carcinoma close to retrohepatic inferior vena cava: case report.

Current studies have shown that living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) for hepatocelluar carcinoma (HCC) satisfying the Milan criteria does not compromise patient survival or increase HCC recurrence compared with deceased-donor liver transplantation (DDLT). For patients with HCC beyond the Milan criteria, however, worse outcomes are expected after LDLT than after DDLT, despite insufficient data to reach a conclusion. Regarding operative technique, LDLT might be a less optimal cancer operation for HCC located at the hepatic vein confluence and/or paracaval portion. The closeness to the wall of the retrohepatic inferior vena cava (IVC) is greater than in conventional DDLT, rendering it difficult to perform a no-touch en bloc total hepatectomy. An LDLT, which must preserve the native IVC for the piggyback technique during engraftment, may lead to tumor remnants. To reduce recurrences after LDLT, we successfully performed a no-touch en bloc total hepatectomy including the retrohepatic IVC and all 3 hepatic veins. IVC replacement with an artificial vascular graft together with a modified right-lobe LDLT was performed for a patient having advanced HCC close to the hepatic vein confluence and paracaval portion. There was no artificial vascular graft-related complication, such as thrombosis or infection. Despite the limitations of LDLT, requiring the piggyback technique for graft implantation, IVC replacement using an artificial graft led us to perform a no-touch en bloc total hepatectomy as with a conventional DDLT.

Phospho-Rb (Ser780) as a biomarker in patients with cervical lymph node metastases from an unknown primary tumour: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: Cervical lymph node metastases from an unknown primary tumour are a heterogeneous disease entity with various clinical features. There are many controversies regarding treatment methods and treatment response predictions. Therefore, we examined the prognostic significance of biomarkers in patients with cervical metastasis of unknown primary tumour. DESIGN: A molecular study of retrospective cohorts. SETTING: University teaching hospital. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Metastatic cervical lymph nodes of 36 patients with cervical unknown primary metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma were assessed by in situ hybridisation for human papillomavirus and immunohistochemistry for p16, retinoblastoma protein (phospho-Ser780), hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, glucose transporter 1 and carbonic anhydrase 9 expression. Clinicopathological factors and biomarkers were analysed for their associations with disease-free survival and overall survival. RESULTS: Univariate analysis showed that nodal extracapsular spread was associated with poor overall survival (P = 0.049), nodal-positive retinoblastoma protein staining were significantly associated with poor outcomes of both disease-free survival (P = 0.035) and overall survival (P = 0.019), Multivariate analysis revealed that nodal positivity of retinoblastoma protein and nodal extracapsular spread were the significant predictors of overall survival (P = 0.049, hazard ratio = 6.21, 95% confidence interval = 1.01-38.35 and P = 0.037, hazard ratio = 4.34, 95% confidence interval = 1.09-17.21, respectively). CONCLUSION: The retinoblastoma protein expression of metastatic lymph nodes represents an independent prognostic indicator in patients with cervical metastasis of unknown primary tumour.

Toward more than 400 liver transplantations a year at a single center.

BACKGROUND: For the first time at Asan Medical Center (AMC) we performed more than 400 liver transplantations (LTs) per year in 2011, despite same number of living donor liver transplantations (LDLTs). METHODS: Our OLT program was started in 1992, but not activated well due to the scarcity of deceased donor organs. Since adult LDLTs using a left lobe and then a right lobe were successfully performed in 1997, we have developed several innovative techniques and approaches for adult LDLT, for example, modified right-lobe graft reconstructing middle hepatic branches in 1998, dual graft LDLT using 2 left lobes in 2000; new criteria for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); as well as ABO-incompatible LDLT, the first in the world. As a result, the number of LDLTs has increased rapidly but reached a plateau recently. Nationwide efforts to promote deceased donation increased the number of deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT). RESULTS: We have performed 317 LDLTs per year in 2010 and 2011, respectively. The number of LTs reached 403 in 2011. This large number was possible due to a remarkable increase of DDLTs from 50 in 2010 to 86 in 2011. Seventy-nine patients (68.1%) among 116 patients (28.8%) required an urgent LT receiving a DDLT. LT for HCC or ABO-mismatch comprised 50.3% (n = 150) or 8.7% (n = 35), respectively. In-hospital mortality rate in 2011 was 4.7%. CONCLUSIONS: The increased LTs number at AMC was aided by the nationwide campaign.

More than 300 consecutive living donor liver transplants a year at a single center.

BACKGROUND: Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has been the first option for the patients requiring liver transplantation in East Asia because of the scarcity of cadaveric grafts. We have performed consecutively more than 300 LDLTs per year, and herein report our methods. METHODS: In 1997, the first successful adult LDLTs used a left and subsequently a right lobe. However, congestion in the anterior segment of right-lobe grafts prompted us to initiate reconstruction of middle hepatic venous tributaries in 1998. Dual LDLT grafts using 2 left lobes were developed in 2000 to solve graft-size insufficiency and minimize donor risk. The indications for adult LDLT were broadened to near complete obstruction of the portal vein by application of intraoperative cine-portography and portal vein stenting in 2004. ABO-incompatible adult LDLT was initiated in 2008 to overcome the blood group barrier between recipient and donor. RESULTS: With various innovations at our institution, 317 LDLTs were performed yearly in 2010 and 2011: 301 in 2010 and 298 in 2011. The most common primary diseases was hepatitis B virus-related liver cirrhosis with or without hepatocellular carcinoma (64.3%). The most common graft types were right hemiliver (82.6%). There has been no donor mortality. ABO-incompatible LDLT cases were 11.0% of the total. In-hospital mortality in 2011 was 2.5% (n = 8; adult 6, pediatric 2). CONCLUSION: Innovations in operative techniques and perioperative care as well as dedicated team members have made it possible to perform more than 300 LDLTs per year consecutively with excellent outcomes.

Computational simulation-based vessel interposition reconstruction technique for portal vein hypoplasia in pediatric liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND: To enhance the technical feasibility of portal vein (PV) interposition grafting for pediatric PV hypoplasia, we performed a computational simulation to establish a customized surgical technique allowing a secure anastomosis of an iliac vein graft to a severely hypoplastic PV stump. METHODS: Based on the literature and on our own experience with reconstruction of PV hypoplasia, we devised three types of recipient PV stump preparations and three types of interposition vein grafts, yielding five technically feasible combinations. RESULTS: The computational simulation model for PV reconstruction using an interposition vein graft revealed the most feasible combination to be a sequential inverted-T incision to the confluence of the superior mesenteric vein and splenic vein with a longitudinal slit in the transverse vein graft end, the technical feasibility was validated by an artificial suture model. This reconstruction was clinically applied to treat a 7.2-kg 10-month-old female patient with biliary atresia and a severely hypoplastic PV. The PV reconstruction was successful; the patient recovered uneventfully. CONCLUSIONS: We have presented a simplified surgical technique for PV interposition that is applicable to pediatric PV hypoplasia, which also appears to be a feasible option for pediatric liver transplantation.