Size Matching Deceased Donor Livers: The Tampa General Measurement System.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: No reliable or standardized system exists for measuring the size of deceased donor livers to determine whether they will fit appropriately into intended recipients. METHODS: This retrospective, single-center study evaluated the efficacy of Tampa General Hospital's size-matching protocol for consecutive, deceased donor liver transplantations between October 2021 and November 2022. Our protocol uses cross-sectional imaging at the time of organ offer to compare the donor's right hepatic lobe size with the recipient's right hepatic fossa. Outcomes were analyzed, including large-for-size syndrome, small-for-size syndrome, early allograft dysfunction, primary nonfunction, graft survival, and patient survival. RESULTS: We included 171 patients in the study. The donor liver physically fit in all the patients except one whose pretransplant imaging was outdated. One patient (0.6%) had large-for-size syndrome, none had small-for-size syndrome, 15 (10%) had early allograft dysfunction, and none had primary nonfunction. There were 11 (7%) patient deaths and 11 (7%) graft failures. CONCLUSION: Our measurement system is fast and effective. It reliably predicts whether the donor liver will fit in the intended recipient and is associated with low rates of early allograft dysfunction.