ORTHOTOPIC LIVER-TRANSPLANTATION FROM A DONOR WITH ABDOMINAL SITUS-INVERSUS

The good results reported for liver transplantation have encouraged a much wider application of the procedure, broadening the list of indica tions and increasing the number of candidates. The shortage of organs for transplantation is a main problem that limits hepatic replacement in the potential recipients. Consequently, the number of contraindicat ions for donor selection has been reduced over the last years. Some fa ctors that were previously thought to preclude successful transplantat ion have now been relegated to relative contraindications, while other s are no longer included. This has frequently led to the use of livers under suboptimal conditions or with anatomical anomalies. This is the case of donors with abdominal situs inversus. In this article, we rep ort an orthotopic liver transplantation using a donor with abdominal s itus inversus. Immunosuppressive protocol following surgery was compos ed of a classic three-drug therapy (cyclosporine, azathioprine, and pr ednisolone). The modified piggyback technique was performed over the r ight suprahepatic vein with orthotopic position of the graft. The graf t showed good long-term function in the recipient, with a normal hepat ic biopsy 5 months after the transplantation. There was no patient rea dmission or other medical problem after a 21/2-year follow-up.