Ex Vivo Liver Resection and Autotransplantation

Ex vivo liver resection and autotransplantation (ELRA) was first introduced by Pichlmayr R (Klinik fur Abdominal- und Transplantationschirurgie, Medizinischen Hochschule, Hannover, FRG) [1]. The procedure was performed in February 1988 in a 46-year-old patient to remove large metastases from a leiomyosarcoma of the stomach. Subsequently, Hannoun et al. [2] and Sauvanet et al. [3] developed a simplified technique of “ex situ” hepatic surgery, in which wide access to all parts of the liver is provided by sectioning the infrahepatic and suprahepatic vena cava, while preserving the continuity of the portal triad.