Living Donor Adult Liver Transplantation : Status Quo in Kyoto and Perspectives in the New Millennium

Abstract

Through the technical evolution and excellent results in living related liver transplantation in children, living related/unrelated liver transplantation in adults has come into reality. Disadvantages of small-for-size liver grafts are now significantly mitigated by the repertoire of left lobe, right lobe, and whole left liver grafts. Evolution of living donor liver transplantation in adults, however, has disclosed significant controversies about anatomical aspects and physiology of the liver. This article summarizes our experiences in the past 5 years and discusses still unresolved problems and perspective in the future.

Key words:

• Liver transplantation
• living donor
• adult patient
• size matching
• right lobe graft