BioScience Trends. 2024;18(3):206-211. (DOI: 10.5582/bst.2024.01176)

Recent trends and new developments in liver transplantation

Sugawara Y, Hibi T


SUMMARY

Liver transplantation (LT) has been an established treatment for end-staged liver disease for acute, chronic, metabolic diseases and liver cancer. Advanced surgical techniques, refined indications and contraindications for LT, improvements of donor selection, prognostic scorings system and immunosuppressive regimens have contributed to the improved outcomes of liver transplantation. The etiologies of cirrhosis have been shifting from viral hepatitis to metabolic associated fatty liver disease. New indications include peripheral or mass forming bile duct cancer, metastases from bowel cancers or neuroendocrine tumors. Resection and partial liver segments 2-3 transplantation with delayed total hepatectomy has been performed to the limited cases, which was the explored technique of auxiliary partial orthotopic LT. Minimally invasive donor hepatectomy (laparoscopic or robotic) has been increasingly done. In this review are described the recent pressing topics in LT.


KEYWORDS: liver transplantation, living donor, hepatocellular carcinoma, metabolic associated steatohepatitis, bariatric surgery

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