Background: Living-donor liver transplantation has become a legitimate alternative to cadaveric liver transplantation. However, information on the perioperative management of donors is still scarce.
Methods: Between October 1996 and May 2001, 52 consecutive living-donor liver transplantations have been performed at the authors' institution. The preoperative and postoperative management of donors, operative technique, and complications are herein described.
Results: All donors were discharged from the hospital alive and well, and all returned to their normal lifestyle without any significant adverse sequelae after a mean hospital stay of 13 days after the operation. Overall, 24 complications occurred, all of which could be managed conservatively, except for one case of hepatic duct stricture that required a relaparotomy. A learning curve has been observed in terms of blood loss during donor hepatectomy.
Conclusions: These results indicate that our approach toward the selection and management of donors was appropriate. Because of the use of meticulous operative techniques, blood loss could also be minimized.