A focused survey of immediate postoperative practices in liver transplantation in India

Abstract

Aim: Over the last decade, the number of liver transplantations and centers that provide this service in India have grown exponentially. However, not all practices relevant to liver transplantation are uniform across the country. We decided to get the opinion from living donor liver transplant (LDLT) centers across the country on four specific aspects relating to LDLT. Methods: We formulated four specific questions that were carefully worded to incorporate aspects of “routine practice” and also answerable in the negative or affirmative, so as to make comparison possible. We collected the data of LDLT centers in India from popular resources such as MOHAN Foundation, from our institutional memory, and also by inquiring with respondents. The following questions were asked: (1) Do you routinely use N-acetyl cysteine for LDLT donors? (2) Do you use routinely use prostaglandin E1 (alprostadil) to facilitate hepatic artery flow in recipients? (3) Do you routinely use antiplatelets to prevent hepatic artery thrombosis in adult LDLT recipients? (4) Do you routinely use low molecular weight heparin for deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis after donor hepatectomy? Results: We received a total of 38 responses, of which 34 were complete. Conclusions: There is no consensus among practitioners regarding the studied aspects of the practice pertinent to immediate postoperative care in liver transplantation. This is primarily because there is neither evidence nor clear guidance from learned societies regarding these issues.

Keywords

• Liver transplantations
• living donor liver transplant
• survey