The Impact of Previous Abdominal Surgery in a High-Acuity Liver Transplant Population

Abstract Background It is not uncommon for liver transplant (LT) recipients to have had previous abdominal surgery (PAS) preceding transplant. The impact of PAS on morbidity and mortality in LT patients remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the correlation between PAS and LT outcomes in a high-acuity patient population. Materials and methods This is a single-center retrospective review of 936 adult primary LT recipients between 2012 and 2018. Patients were divided based on PAS history. PAS was subdivided into upper abdominal surgery (UAS) and lower abdominal surgery (LAS). UAS was separated into high-impact UAS and low-impact UAS. Finally, we studied patients with PAS ≤90 d versus PAS >90 d. Results Extensive adhesiolysis was the only significant perioperative factor between the PAS group (n = 367) and the non-PAS group (n = 569) (P  90 d (n = 338), recipients with PAS ≤90 d (n = 29) had significantly higher RBC transfusion (P = 0.046), fresh frozen plasma transfusion (P = 0.022), and abdominal packing (P = 0.025). No differences in patient and graft survival was observed. Conclusions These findings suggest that, with appropriate care in the perioperative setting, PAS is not a contraindication to successful LT. Careful consideration is warranted when risk stratifying patients with multiple comorbidities who had PAS, especially those with UAS or PAS ≤90 d.