Incidence of ischemic type biliary lesions after liver transplantation using piggyback technique and retrograde reperfusion

Background With an incidence up to 20 % biliary complications in the first year after liver transplantation (LT), these are still the main problems following a successful transplantation (TX). Reperfusion in LT is done via an antegrade flow through the portal vein and the hepatic artery as a standard. Retrograde reperfusion via the caval vein has shown to reduce the rate of initial graft nonfunction after LT but increase biliary complications. Retrograde reperfusion in combination with piggyback technique is the standard technique for liver transplantation in our center. The aim of this study was to compare the rate of biliary complications after LT with retrograde reperfusion in combination with piggyback technique to the literature.