Successful Graft Retrieval for Liver Transplant in a Donor With an Infrarenal Aortic Aneurysm

With increased use of extended criteria liver donors, there is a higher incidence of previously unknown intra-abdominal pathologies, including abdominal aortic aneurysms, which are being accidentally found during organ procurement. These findings often involve technical difficulties that challenge organ procurement teams and potentially put at risk the success of organ retrieval and eventual transplant. In this case report, we present a novel case of a successful liver retrieval from a donor with brain death who was incidentally found to have an infrarenal aortic aneurysm that spared both iliac arteries. Because of high risk of aneurysm rupture during aortic cannulation, our team decided to cannulate an iliac artery instead. This surgical procedure was performed without incident, and adequate flushing of the organs with organ preservation solution was achieved.