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Background Biliary complications, especially bile leaks, are an important cause of early postoperative morbidity and, rarely, mortality after liver transplant. The risk is higher in living donor liver transplant (LDLT) compared to deceased donor liver transplant (DDLT). Attempts to reduce bile leaks have included refinements in the biliary anastomosis technique and use of various external and internal stents, with inconsistent benefits. Recent availability and successful use of the absorbable Archimedes stent has prompted its intrabiliary placement across the anastomosis. Methods In this retrospective study, we analyzed the data of 20 adult patients who underwent a liver transplant with duct-to-duct biliary anastomosis using the Archimedes stent. Both DDLT and LDLT were performed using cava-preserving hepatectomy followed by standard implantation methods. Duct-to-duct biliary anastomosis was performed in all cases using interrupted sutures with extracorporeal knots over an absorbable intrabiliary stent. In addition to standard postoperative care, patients were monitored for bile leak. Results Nine DDLTs had a single anastomosis over a 10-Fr stent. Out of 11 LDLT patients, 7 had a single anastomosis and 4 patients had 2 anastomoses, all over a 6-Fr stent. Two patients died, 1 as a result of graft primary nonfunction and another because of multidrug-resistant pneumonia. One patient had ascending cholangitis owing to stent migration in the duodenum. This episode was treated with endoscopic stent removal and appropriate antibiotics, with good recovery. None of the other patients had bile leaks, biloma, or stent-related complications. Conclusions Archimedes internal absorbable biliary stents can be safely used in both living and deceased donor liver transplants to prevent bile leaks.

As of August 2020, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has affected more than 213 countries, leading to more than 18 million cases and 690,000 deaths. India is the second most affected country, with the majority of cases in metropolitan cities, such as Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, and Bengaluru. There is limited literature on the outcomes and safety of performing living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epicenters.

Background: spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a common complication in patients with cirrhosis and is associated with a high mortality rate. Only a few reports have analyzed the impact of treated SBP that occurs in the immediate pre-operative period on outcome after a living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). The results of whether post-transplant patients are dependent on pre-transplant infections are still debatable and unclear. Therefore, this study examined the outcomes of LDLT recipients with recent episodes of SBP and LDLT recipients without prior episodes of SBP. Patients: the records of 62 LDLT recipients who underwent LDLT were retrospectively reviewed. Twenty-four (36 %) recipients had at least one episode of SBP before LDLT. However, active SBP was not present in any of the recipients at the time of LDLT. Both recipient groups were compared in terms of demographic profile, perioperative and postoperative variables and outcomes. Results: higher pre-operative Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score (mean [SD] 11.77 [1.37] vs 10.5 [1.22], p < 0.001) and prior history of renal dysfunction (mean serum creatinine [SD] 1.715 [1.08] vs 1.02 [0.479] mg/dl, p = 0.002) were more commonly associated with the SBP group as compared to the non-SBP group. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of the following variables: previous diabetes mellitus (3 [12.5 %] vs 6 [15.8 %]), pre-operative model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score (median [IQR] 21 [10-37] vs 22 [9-39]), operative time (mean [SD] 789.57 [153.49] vs 800.86 [138.69] min), total number of blood transfusion (median [IQR] 10 [2-19] vs 8 [1-18]), hospital stay (median 21 vs 20 days), re-exploration (4 [16.6 %] vs 2 [5.3 %]), postoperative sepsis (8 [33 %] vs 5 [13 %]) and 30-day mortality (3 [12.5 %] vs 2 [5.3 %]). Conclusions: the presence of previous episodes of pre-operative SBP in LDLT recipients does not result in adverse post-operative short-term outcomes.

Introduction Pure laparoscopic left lateral sectionectomy (LLS) is fast becoming the standard technique for donor hepatectomy in pediatric liver transplantation. We present the first case of pure laparoscopic LLS performed in Western India. Methods An 11-month-old male child suffering from biliary atresia with history of failed Kasai operation at the age of 3 months presented to our center in Mumbai for a living donor liver transplantation. The donor was his father, 32-year-old with body mass index of 22, LAI +10 and MRE fat fraction of 1%-3%. Projected graft weight of LLS was 187 grams with GRWR of 2.4. He had favorable vascular and biliary anatomy with left hepatic artery (LHA) arising from hepatic artery proper and segment 4 artery from LHA, type A portal vein and A1B1 biliary anatomy. Patient underwent pure laparoscopic LLS. Results The technique of pure laparoscopic LLS is demonstrated in the attached video. The graft warm ischemic time was 7 minutes, blood loss 300 mL and operating time 7 hours. The donor was discharged on 5th post-operative day with a minor post-operative bile leak that resolved spontaneously and is well at 1 month follow-up. Conclusions Pure laparoscopic living donor LLS is safe and should be performed by a team experienced in open donor hepatectomy, advanced laparoscopic surgery after specific training in the procedure and negotiating the learning curve under supervision. The operative time was long, but consistent with worldwide data for early cases, which we anticipate will reduce with more experience.

Introduction Liver grafts are often reduced for pediatric liver transplant in infants to accommodate them in the child's abdomen and avoid portal hypoperfusion. However, the most common technique of non-anatomical reduction does not reduce graft thickness. We describe the technique of anatomical segment 2 graft for liver transplant in an infant with acute liver failure. Methods A six-month-old child with acute liver failure required an emergency liver transplant in our unit. The child's mother was found medically suitable on pre-operative evaluation. However, the donor left lateral segment (LLS) was "blowfish" type with estimated GRWR of 3.5. The donor graft and recipient abdominal cavity measurements revealed that the donor's liver was too large for the child's abdominal cavity (distance from anterior abdominal wall to IVC-MHV-LHV confluence in the donor was 75 mm compared to 50 mm in the child). Results The dissection for LLS donor hepatectomy was performed using the standard technique followed by reducing segment 3 to obtain segment 2 graft, in-situ. The segment 3 pedicle was identified in the umbilical fissure and clamped. The ischemic plane was oblique, as demonstrated in the video, substantially reducing the graft thickness. Parenchymal transection was done using CUSA and the segment 3 pedicle and hepatic vein tributary were secured. The GRWR was 1.5 allowing good fit and primary closure of the child's abdomen. Post-operatively, the child had high transaminases (peak 2,000 IU/L) and high drain output (2.5 mL/kg/day) that settled down in a week. Conclusions The technique of anatomical mono-segment liver grafts is valuable for pediatric liver transplantation in.