Single-center experience of living donor liver transplantation in patients with portal vein thrombosis

Background: Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is a relative contraindication in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). We investigated the long-term outcome of adult patients with PVT in LDLT. Methods: Between 2004 and 2009, 471 cases of adult LDLT were performed and 56 patients had PVT (11.8%). Thrombectomy was attempted using a modified eversion technique. We evaluated the outcome of patients with PVT according to grade and compared with no-PVT patients. Results: There was no difference in terms of age, gender, Child-Pugh score, MELD score, proportion of malignance, operation time, and total amount of transfused blood. Complete thrombectomy was successful in 73.2% (41/56), partial thrombectomy in 26.8% (15/56), and one case needed jump graft for portal vein reconstruction. Among patients with partial thrombectomy, when the PV velocity was above 20 cm/s, the remnant thrombus disappeared in 46%. The rate of PV complication was statistically not different (8.9% vs 3.4%, P=.062). Five-year survival of mild PVT was 69.3%, 60.6% for severe PVT, and 80.4% for no-PVT (P=.059). Conclusions: Eversion thrombectomy by modified technique is feasible in most cases of PVT. Good long-term outcome may be expected in LDLT with PVT.