Microsurgical hepatic artery reconstruction during living-donor liver transplantation by using head-mounted surgical binocular system

Transpl Int. 2007 Nov;20(11):970-3. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-2277.2007.00525.x. Epub 2007 Jul 17.

Abstract

We have described our experience with arterial reconstruction during living-donor liver transplantation by using Varioscope AF3--a head-mounted surgical binocular system with automatic focusing and continuous zoom magnification from 3.6x to 7.2x. From July 1996 to December 2006, 91 grafts were implanted in 89 living-donor liver transplantation recipients, including two that required retransplantation. For microsurgical reconstruction of the graft hepatic artery, a conventional operating microscope was used in the first 10 transplants and Varioscope, in the subsequent 81. The time required to complete arterial reconstruction while using a conventional operating microscope and Varioscope was 78.6 +/- 44.6 min and 35.5 +/- 15.5 min, respectively. No arterial complications, including hepatic artery thrombosis, occurred in any of the 89 patients during the observation period. In living-donor liver transplantation, successful hepatic artery reconstruction can be safely carried out using Varioscope.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Female
  • Hepatic Artery / surgery*
  • Humans
  • Liver Transplantation / methods*
  • Living Donors*
  • Male
  • Microsurgery / instrumentation*
  • Middle Aged
  • Vascular Surgical Procedures / instrumentation*