Auxiliary Partial Orthotopic Living Donor Liver Transplantation for Fulminant Hepatic Failure With Flat Electroencephalogram: A Case Report

A 54-year-old woman with hepatic encephalopathy grade IV (coma) and flat electroencephalogram (EEG) due to fulminant liver failure (FHF) due to hepatitis B virus infection was admitted to our hospital on May 24, 2002. We performed a living donor auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation (APOLT) emergently on the day of admission. The donor was the patient's son, whose ABO blood group was identical. The immunosuppressant regimen consisted of tacrolimus and low-dose steroids. The left lobe (260 g) of the recipient, which was removed using a Pringle maneuver, was reconstructed with a left lobe (417 g) graft from the donor, which was orthotopically positioned as an auxiliary support. The patient remained in a coma for the first 5 days but on day 6 her eyes opened and followed objects. Finally, she recovered an almost normal appearance. Abdominal compartment syndrome, bile leak, and a mild rejection episode occurred during the postoperative course; all were treated successfully. The patient was discharged on the postoperative day 142. Computed tomography (CT) scan and biopsy were used to follow the changes in the graft and the native liver. On postoperative day 520, a CT scan showed a remarkable improvement in native liver size (493 cm(3)). Immunosuppression was tapered off and stopped on the postoperative day 635 to surrender the grafted liver. The graft liver biopsy specimen showed severe chronic rejection. The present status of the patient, who is now more than 7 years after transplantation, is an absence of neurological findings with normal liver function.