2005 AHPBA Annual Meeting Analysis of Postsurgical Complications in 75 Living Liver Transplantation Donors Hakan Sozen, M.D., Hamdi Karakayali, M.D., Gokhan Moray, M.D., Aydin Dalgic, M.D., Remzi Emiroglu, M.D., Mehmet Haberal, M.D., F.A.C.S. Seventy-five living donor liver hepatectomies were performed at our transplantation center between April 1990 and December 2004. We collected the data from patient charts, files, and the Baskent Uni- versity Liver Registry. There were 39 male and 36 female donors (mean age, 35.1 6 9.3 years). We have performed 29 (38.6%) left hepatic lobectomies, 18 (24%) left lateral segmentectomies, 26 (34.6%) right lobectomies, and two (2.6%) donors had simultaneous living donor nephrectomy plus left lobe hepatec- tomy. The mean remnant liver volume was 598 6 168 cm 3 (range, 410–915 cm 3 ). The mean percentage of remnant liver for the donor was 55.2%. Mean postoperative hospital stay was 10 6 4.4 days. After surgery, there was no mortality or reoperation. We saw 15 (20%) postsurgical complications in 14 do- nors. Intra-abdominal collection was seen in five (6.6%) patients. Biliary leak was seen in four patients. Portal vein thrombosis was seen in one patient, and a pulmonary embolus developed in one liver donor. Patient safety must be the primary focus in living-donor liver transplantation. These donors face signif- icant risks, including substantial morbidity and death. More experience, improved surgical techniques, and meticulous donor evaluation will help minimize morbidity and mortality for both living liver donors and recipients. ( J GASTROINTEST SURG 2006;10:646–651) Ó 2006 The Society for Surgery of the Ali- mentary Tract KEY WORDS: Living donor liver transplantation, complication, outcome Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) was introduced in 1989, with the first report of a suc- cessful series of pediatric recipients. 1 The growing gap between the number of available cadaveric or- gans and the continuously increasing number of pa- tients on adult waiting lists for liver transplantation has forced the transplantation community to under- take LDLT not only in children, but in adults as well. 2 Liver transplantation has revolutionized the man- agement of liver disease. The number of patients who could benefit from liver transplantation still far exceeds the number of available cadaver donors, but new strategies such as splitting cadaver organs and using living donors have expanded access to transplantation. Adult-to-adult LDLT was first per- formed by our team in Turkey in 1990. 3 Donor safety and satisfactory outcome for the recipient are key issues in the process of living do- nation. Donor evaluation, intense preoperative plan- ning, and meticulous surgical technique are essential to minimize complications and to ensure sufficient graft function. The selection criteria for potential living-related living liver transplant donors are very strict, as demonstrated by the large proportion of candidates (40%–70%) who are not accepted. 4,5 PATIENTS AND METHODS To assess postsurgical complications and safety of living donor hepatectomy, we retrospectively ana- lyzed the patient records for the 75 living related- donor hepatectomies that had been performed at our transplantation center between April 1990 and Presented at the 2005 American Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association Congress, Hollywood, Florida, April 14–17, 2005 (poster presentation). From the Baskent University Faculty of Medicine, Department of General Surgery, Division of Transplantation, Ankara, Turkey. Reprint requests: Mehmet Haberal, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.I.C.S. President, Baskent University Faculty of Medicine, 1. Cadde No:77 Bahc ¸elievler, 06490 Ankara, Turkey. e-mail: rektorluk@baskent-ank.edu.tr 646 Ó 2006 The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract Published by Elsevier Inc. 1091-255X/06/$dsee front matter doi:10.1016/j.gassur.2006.01.016