Fully laparoscopic adult living donor for pediatric transplantation. Technical aspects and results

Abstract

Introduction: Laparoscopic liver surgery has presented a slower development due to the complexity it has, which determines a prolonged learning curve. In relation to laparoscopic hepatectomy for a living donor liver transplantation (LT), this has been further delayed due to concerns about donor safety, graft results and the acquisition of the technical skills of surgeons. The objective of this article is to present technical details of the laparoscopic left hepatectomy of adult living donors for pediatric transplantation and the surgical results of the cases performed in this center.

Materials and Method: Presentation of the surgical technique of left hepatectomy in living donors for LT in pediatric recipients in addition to conducting a non-concurrent cohort study of patients undergoing this surgery at the Hospital Clinico Universidad Catolica between May 2011 to November 2017.

Results: The series consists of 15 patients, 60% female. Thirteen patients (86.6%) were mother or father of the recipient. 100% of patients underwent laparoscopic left hepatectomy without conversion. Clavien-Dindo Morbidity > 3, in 1 patient who required percutaneous drainage of biloma. Median hospitalization of 3 days (2-5). There was no mortality.

Conclusion: Laparoscopic left hepatectomy of living donors for pediatric LT is a safe and feasible procedure to perform in this center, with excellent results in terms of morbidity and mortality and we consider that this technique should be the route of choice for adult-pediatric living donors.