Living donor liver transplantation

Area of Science:

• Hepatobiliary surgery
• Transplantation medicine
• Surgical innovation

Background:

• Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is evolving with new techniques.
• Donor safety and applicability of novel methods are key considerations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current issues in LDLT applicability and safety.
• To assess advancements in donor selection and surgical techniques.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent findings in LDLT.
• Analysis of controversies surrounding minimally invasive donor hepatectomy.
• Evaluation of strategies for expanding the living donor pool.

Main Results:

• Minimally invasive donor hepatectomy raises safety and reproducibility questions.
• Dual graft and ABO-incompatible LDLT are effective methods.
• Extended criteria for hepatocellular carcinoma in LDLT are promising but require validation.
• Innovative techniques address challenges like Budd-Chiari syndrome and portal vein thrombosis.

Conclusions:

• LDLT faces challenges including donor safety, complexity, and graft size.
• Experience from high-volume centers drives progress in LDLT.
• Further refinement is needed to overcome partial graft limitations and broaden LDLT application.