DELAYED CORRECTION OF PORTAL-HYPERTENSION AFTER PORTAL-VEIN CONDUIT ARTERIALIZATION IN LIVER-TRANSPLANTATION

A 55-year-old woman underwent orthotopic liver transplantation for aut oimmune chronic active hepatitis. Extensive portal and superior mesent eric venous thrombosis precluded standard portal venous reconstruction and necessitated use of a venous conduit from the recipient splenic v ein of the donor liver. Flow through this conduit was poor, however, a nd to]prevent subsequent portal venous thrombosis and graft loss, the conduit was arterialized by end-to-side anastomosis with the recipient hepatic artery. This ensured graft survival but resulted in prehepati c portal hypertension, which required ligation of the arterio portal f istula for 4 months. The patient had a satisfactory outcome.