BACKGROUND: Hepatic venous outflow stenosis is an uncommon but serious complication after right lobe living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). Failure to recognize and treat this complication early can result in graft failure and even death. The early diagnosis and management of hepatic venous outflow stenosis has become an important issue.
METHOD: We report a case with this complication treated by endovascular stent placement in the early period after right lobe LDLT and review related reports to explore the possible mechanism.
RESULTS: A 44-year-old man with end-stage hepatitis B liver cirrhosis underwent right lobe LDLT. On postoperative day 13, his liver function deteriorated and he developed refractory ascites for maximal diuretic therapy. Hepatic venography showed a stenosis with an element of torsion of the venous drainage proximal to the anastomosis of the right hepatic venous orifice and inferior vena cava. The stenosis was successfully treated by insertion of an expandable metallic stent.
CONCLUSIONS: The result demonstrates that stent placement for stenosis is safe and effective. We suspect that rapid hypertrophy of an asymmetric right lobe graft may result in hepatic venous outflow stenosis caused by twisting or external compression of the hepatic veins.