BACKGROUND: Previous studies have reported poor graft regeneration after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) due to inappropriate portal venous flow (PVF). In this study, we investigated the perioperative factors affecting postoperative PVF after LDLT.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The perioperative data of 366 LDLT patients were retrospectively reviewed. The average PVF on postoperative days 1, 3, and 5 was measured and dichotomized at a cut-off value for patient survival of 1,477 mL/min. Perioperative variables, including coagulation profiles, were compared between high and low postoperative PVF groups. The factors potentially significant (p<0.1) for a low postoperative PVF were evaluated in a univariate analysis, followed by the development of a predictive model for a low postoperative PVF.

RESULTS: A low post-LDLT PVF was determined in 113 patients (30.9%). The univariate analysis identified systemic hypertension, LDLT duration, average mean blood pressure, and insulin administration as the significantly related factors. Other significant factors were a plasma fibrinogen, at the anhepatic phase and 1 h after graft reperfusion, as well as the platelet count at the anhepatic phase. After multivariate adjustment, plasma fibrinogen 1 h after graft reperfusion against a recipient background of systemic hypertension was independently associated with a low mean postoperative PVF.

CONCLUSIONS: A low mean PVF during the early post-LDLT period was independently related to the plasma fibrinogen level 1 h after graft reperfusion, and to a history of systemic hypertension. Thus, the practice of aggressive supplementation of plasma fibrinogen during the immediate post-reperfusion period merits serious consideration.

Keywords: Fibrinogen, Hypertension, Intraoperative Period, Liver Transplantation