Usability of intraoperative cine-portogram during liver transplantation in young pediatric patients with biliary atresia

Background Pediatric patients with biliary atresia (BA) often present liver cirrhosis-associated portal hypertension and portal vein (PV) hypoplasia. For successful liver transplantation (LT), it is essential to maintain sufficient PV inflow through stenosis-free PV reconstruction with effective ligation of collateral veins. The aim of this study was to assess the clinical usability of intraoperative cine-portogram (IOCP) in young pediatric patients who underwent LT for BA. Methods Medical records of pediatric patients younger than 10 years who underwent primary LT for BA from 2018 to 2020 were reviewed. Results A total of 31 patients had undergone Kasai portoenterostomy soon after birth. Their median ages at Kasai portoenterostomy and LT were 1 and 11 months, respectively. Types of LT were living-donor LT in 13, deceased-donor split LT in 15, and deceased-donor whole LT in three patients. PV interposition using an iliac vein homograft was performed in 28 patients receiving partial liver grafts. Side-to-side PV unification venoplasty was performed in three patients undergoing whole LT. All patients underwent ligation of collateral veins. IOCP was performed in 6 (19.4%) patients. Four showed no or faint residual venous collaterals. Collateral vein embolization and endovascular stenting were performed in one patient each. PV insufficiency-free survival rate was 100% at 1 year and 93.8% at 3 years. All patients are currently alive with a median follow-up period of 23 months. Conclusions Intraoperative cine-portogram can be a useful method for identification and embolization of residual portosystemic collateral veins in young pediatric patients who undergo LT for biliary atresia.

Automated summary

The study assessed the clinical usability of intraoperative cine-portogram in young pediatric patients undergoing LT for biliary atresia, demonstrating that this method is valuable for identifying and embolizing residual collateral veins in this patient population.