Comparative Morphometric Analysis of 5 Interpositional Arterial Autograft Options for Adult Living Donor Liver Transplantation

Abstract

In living donor liver transplantation, the right-sided graft presents thin and short vessels, bringing forward a more difficult anastomosis. In these cases, an interpositional arterial autograft can be used to favor the performance of the arterial anastomosis, making the procedure easier and avoiding surgical complications. Objective. We compared the inferior mesenteric artery (IMA), the splenic artery (SA), the inferior epigastric artery (TEA), the descending branch of the lateral circumflex femoral artery (LCFA), and the proper hepatic artery (PHA) as options for interpositional autograft in living donor liver transplantation. Method. Segments of at least 3 cm of all 5 arteries were harvested from 16 fresh adult cadavers from both genders through standardized dissection. The analyzed measures were proximal and distal diameter and length. The proximal diameter of the RHA and the distal diameter of the SA, IMA, IEA and the LCFA were compared to the distal diameter of the RHA. The proximal and distal diameters of the SA, TEA and LCFA were compared to study caliber gain of each artery. Results. All arteries except the IMA showed statistical significant difference in relation to the RHA in terms of diameter. Regarding caliber gain, the arteries demonstrated statistical significant difference. All the harvested arteries except PHA were 3 cm in length. Conclusion. The IMA demonstrated the best compatibility with the RI-TA in terms of diameter and showed sufficient length to be employed as interpositional graft. The PHA, the SA, the TEA and the LCFA presented statistically significant different diameters when compared to the RHA. Among these vessels, only the PHA did not show sufficient mean length.