Hepatic artery reconstruction in living donor liver transplantation using surgical loupes: Achieving low rate of hepatic arterial thrombosis in 741 consecutive recipients—tips and tricks to overcome the poor hepatic arterial flow

The reconstruction of the hepatic artery (HA) is the most complex step in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) because of the smaller diameter of the artery and the increased risk of HA‐related complications. Because of the smaller diameter of the HA, many centers use a microsurgical technique with interrupted sutures for arterial anastomosis. The aim of our study was to retrospectively investigate the outcomes after HA reconstruction performed under magnifying loupes using the “parachute technique.” From August 1, 2002 to August 31, 2016, LDLT was performed in 766 recipients. HA reconstruction for the initial 25 LDLT surgeries was performed using a microsurgery technique (era 1). From May 2007 until the end date, HA reconstruction was performed in 741 recipients by a “parachute technique” under surgical loupes (era 2). HA reconstruction was performed using surgical loupes in 737 adults (male:female, 526:211) and 4 pediatric patients (male:female, 3:1). The average diameter of the donor graft HA was 2.8 mm (range, 1‐6.5 mm). The most notable factor in this era was the quick HA anastomosis procedure with a mean time of 10 ± 5 minutes (range, 5‐30 minutes). In era 2, 9 (1.21%) patients developed hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT), whereas 2 patients developed nonthrombotic HA‐related complications. Extra‐anatomic HA reconstruction was performed in 14 patients due to either primary HA anastomosis failure or a poor caliber recipient HA. The use of magnifying surgical loupes to perform HA reconstruction is safe, feasible, and yields a low incidence of HA‐related complications. The “parachute technique” for HA reconstruction can achieve a speedy reconstruction without increasing the risk of HAT. Liver Transplantation 23 887–898 2017 AASLD.