Graft size-matching in living related partial liver transplantation in relation to tissue oxygenation and metabolic capacity

The influence of graft size-matching on tissue oxygenation and metabolic capability was studied in living related partial liver transplantations for 47 pediatric patients. Their age ranged from 4 months to 17 years 3 months, their body weight from 4.0 to 58.0 kg, graft weight from 191 to 440 g, and graft weight/recipient body weight ratio from 0.61% to 6.0%. Tissue oxygenation and its heterogeneity were investigated by measuring oxygen saturation of hemoglobin in the liver sinusoid (SO2), coefficient of variation of SO2, and arterial ketone body ratio. The metabolic capacity of the graft was investigated by measuring bilirubin clearance, recovery of cholesterol esterification, and ketone body production. In infants with a relatively large liver graft, both intra- and extracellular oxygenation remained low soon after reperfusion but recovered to the control value by the end of the operation. In adolescent recipients of a relatively small graft, by contrast, synthetic and detoxification capacities were relatively deficient; however, these improved with time. These results indicate that sufficient tissue oxygenation and liver regeneration are essential for successful liver transplantation with relatively large and small grafts, respectively.