Liver transplantation in patients with a previous portasystemic shunt.

Over a six-year period, 4 patients who had undergone previous portasystemic shunt procedures received an orthotopic liver transplantation (OLTx). The types of shunt used were porta-caval (2 patients), distal splenoral shunt (1 patient), and the Sugiura procedure (1 patient). The mean interval between shunt and transplantation was 3.25 years. There was no statistical difference in blood, plasma, and crystalloid requirements, cold and warm ischemia, duration of the transplantation procedure or postoperative complications between these 4 patients and any of the others.