Hepatic Arterial Reconstruction Using Right Gastroepiploic Artery in Living Donor Liver Transplantation

Abstract Backround Hepatic artery (HA) anastomosis is still a challenge in living donor liver transplantation due to the short- and small-caliber graft artery. Patients and methods If the recipient HA is damaged, reconstruction of HA is a significant problem. This paper reports on the results of using our alternative artery source in patients who had HA depredation for a variety of reasons, including transarterial chemoembolization. We used the right gastroepiploic hepatic artery for HA reconstruction in 5 patients. Results None of the patients experienced HA thrombosis. Only one patient who underwent retransplantation due to chronic rejection had biliary leakage. The mean follow-up time was 7.4 months; no graft loss or patient mortality was observed. The right gastroepiploic hepatic artery can be used securely for HA reconstruction in patients with a damaged HA.