[Evaluation of living donors for liver transplantation: radiology and virtual surgery]

To propose a comprehensive imaging algorithm of living donors for liver transplantation allowing virtual presurgical planning.

Prospective CT and MRI evaluation of 20 patients selected as potential living donors for liver transplantation, between June 2001 and March 2003. For each patient, a virtual hepatectomy according to anatomical biliary and vascular variations, total liver Volume and residual liver Volume, were simulated. The imaging results were correlated to the surgical findings.

CT and MRI demonstrated thirty-five vascular and biliary anatomical variations in 17 patients. Knowledge of these variations resulted in modification of the surgical planning in 6 cases. Four additional variations were described at surgery. The virtual graft Volumes correlated well to the surgical ones (p<0.0001).

CT and MRI are useful for the presurgical evaluation of living donors prior to liver transplantation. Estimation of the residual liver Volume allows a good prediction of the postsurgical outcome.