Abstract:
Aim. The purpose of this retrospective study is to evaluate the risk factors hepatic artery
thrombosis (HAT) after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in a consecutive series
from a single center.
Materials and Methods. Between January 2010 and May 2012, we performed 278 living
donor liver transplantations, including 189 males and 89 females. We compared the risk
factors between HAT and non-HAT groups according to the following variables: age,
gender, body mass index (BMI), graft weight, use of graft, Child-Pugh and model for end
stage liver disease score, level of hemoglobin, blood pressure, operation time, blood
transfusion, presence of ascites, international normalized ratio (INR) level, and etiology.
Results. Eighteen patients, including 15 males and 3 female, had HAT after the
operation (mean age, 45.1 years; age range, 22–60 years). There were no pediatric patients
in the HAT group. HAT rate was 6.5% in our series. Graft loss and retransplantation due
to HAT was 38.7% in a 2-year period. Biliary leakage was observed in 72 (25.8%) living
donor liver transplantations; this rate was higher in patients with HAT (n 8; 44.4%). The
infection rate was 50% (n 9) in the HAT group and was 32.7% (n 91) in the non-HAT
group. Mean INR value was 2.15 in the HAT group and 1.72 in the non-HAT group. When
we compared the groups according to use of graft for anastomosis, biliary lekage, infection,
and INR value, the differences were statistically significant (P .05).
Conclusion. Although the results of OLT have improved over the past years, HAT is still
associated with substantial morbidity, high incidence of graft failure, and high mortality
rates. The most important findings associated with HAT in our series were found as INR
levels, bile leakage, and resistant infections. Use of vascular graft for hepatic artery
anastomosis was found to increase HAT risk.
