Human fetal liver cells as a bridge to the liver transplantation in patients waiting for donors

Abstract

Introduction: Even after 2 decades of experience in laparoscopic hepatectomy, data on purely laparoscopic approach for donor hepatectomy in adult living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is limited, especially from India. We report our series of 10 cases of pure laparoscopic donor hepatectomy from India, which is the largest reported series from the country. Method: We report our initial experience of a purely laparoscopic approach for donor hepatectomy for adult recipients to explore its potential application in the management of donors.We did a retrospective data analysis of 10 consecutive patients operated between Jan 2018 and February 2019. Result: There were 9 right, and 1 left hepatectomy. The median operative time was 486 minutes (range 294-684 minutes), and warm ischemia time was 6 minutes (4-12 minutes). Estimated blood loss was 300 mL (10-850 mL), and none of the patients required intraoperative transfusion. One patient required conversion to Lap Assisted approach, due to biliary anomaly. All patients recovered, and there was no mortality. Conclusion: Purely laparoscopic donor hepatectomy for adult LDLT recipients seems to be a feasible option; with careful patient selection and when performed by experienced surgeons, it may afford results comparable to the open method.