Critical care issues in adult liver transplantation

Over the last decade, liver transplantation has become an operational reality in our part of the world. As a result, clinicians working in an intensive care unit are more likely to be exposed to these patients in the immediate postoperative period, and thus, it is important that they have a working knowledge of the common complications, when they are likely to occur, and how to deal with them. The main focus of this review is to address the variety of critical care issues in liver transplant recipients and to impress upon the need to provide favorable circumstances for the new liver to start functioning and maintain the function of other organs to aid in this process.