Technical Skills Required in Split Liver Transplantation

ABSTRACT: The number of liver grafts obtained from a cadaver can be greatly increased with the application of split liver transplantation. In the last 10 years, pediatric waiting list mortality has been reduced significantly with the use of this form of liver transplantation, which has 2 major forms. In its most commonly used form, the liver can be transplanted into 1 adult and 1 child by splitting it into a right extended and a left lateral graft. For adult and pediatric recipients, the results of this procedure are comparable to those of whole-organ techniques. In another form, 2 hemi-grafts are obtained by splitting the liver, which can be transplanted into a medium-sized adult (the right side) and a large child/small adult (the left side). The adult liver graft pool is expanded through the process of full right/full left splitting; but it is also a critical technique when one considers the knowledge required of the potential anatomic variations and the high technical skill level needed. In this review, we provide some basic insights into the technical and anatomical aspects of these 2 forms of split liver transplantation and present an updated summary of both forms.

Keywords: Cadaver, Liver, Transplantation