Year: 1995
Type: article
Abstract: iver transplantation is an accepted therapy for L end-stage liver disease, allowing resumption of a nearly normal life style by adult and pediatric patients and giving good long-term survival.In 1985, about 600 liver transplantations were performed in the United States.In 1990, this number increased to 2,600, and in 1995 more than 3,000 liver transplantations will be performed.Improvements in surgical technique and immunosuppression have contributed to the increased use of liver transplantation, but perhaps the most important factor favoring this expansion is improved donor liver preservation afforded by the University of Wisconsin (W cold storage solution.l-3 With UW solution, liver transplantation surgery no longer requires 24-hour stand-by availability of surgeons, support staffs, and operating facilities.Moreover, the longer preservation times afforded by U W solution permit lengthy back-table procedures to reduce liver size for pediatric cases, where size-matched organs are s ~a r c e , ~ and to split livers, so one donor liver can rescue two patients from terminal liver d i ~e a s e .~-~ Issues in Liver Preservation Primary Graft Nonfunction and Initial Poor FunctionPrimary graft non-function causing immediate graft failure remains an important problem in clinical liver transplantation and still occurs in 5% to 15% of p a t i e n t ~. ~. ~J ~The features of primary graft nonfunc-
DOI: 10.1002/lt.500010211
Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Language: English
Subfield: Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2043371415