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Yuji Soejima

Publications and source records attributed to Yuji Soejima.

42 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

[Domino and split liver transplantation: technical problems].

Because the shortage of donor livers has been the rate-limiting factor in the expansion of liver transplantation, several innovative techniques including reduced, split, and living donor liver transplantation have been developed to expand the relatively constant pool of organs. Domino liver transplantation, which was first reported from Portugal in 1995, has been performed worldwide and allows a donor organ to be used for a subsequent graft in a second liver recipient. Domino liver transplantation involves specific ethical and technical problems. The most important ethical problem in the procedure is the use of a diseased liver (e.g., familial amyloid polyneuropathy [FAP]) for a second recipient. Furthermore, the safety of the first recipient (FAP patient) should be the primary consideration. From the technical point of view, the management of short vascular cuffs is important, especially in domino liver transplantation from a living donor. The results of split liver transplantation have significantly improved and it is now recognized as an ideal method to expand the donor pool, especially for small children. Either the ex vivo or in vivo technique can be used with comparable results.

Adult↗

[Living donor liver transplantation for fulminant hepatic failure--medical treatment organization in Kyushu University].

Liver transplantation has been recognized as an effective therapeutic method for end-stage liver disease in Japan. Fulminant hepatic failure is also an indication for liver transplantation, and the number of patients undergoing liver transplantation has been increasing. Reversibility and urgency are characteristics of fulminant hepatitis. If given appropriate critical support, many patients recover spontaneously. However, many patients develop cerebral edema or multiorgan failure before the liver can regenerate. From October 1996 to July 2002, living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) was performed to 84 end stage liver disease patients in Kyushu University. Twenty-four (28.6%) of 84 LDLTs were for fulminant hepatic failure. In Kyushu University, LDLT candidates including urgent cases were discussed with indication in the liver transplantation committee (the medical professions division and an outside-the-university committee are included) and then the coordinator committee performs informed consent. LDLT can be performed only by cooperation of each section concerned such as Transfusion part, Medicine part, Radiation part, Operation part, Intensive Care Unit and so on. In this paper, we outline about fulminant hepatic failure and living donor liver transplantation, and describe the fulminant hepatitis medical treatment organization in Kyushu University.

Humans↗

[Living donor liver transplantation for a patient with renal failure].

Pretransplant renal failure is a well-known risk factor which adversely affects the prognosis after liver transplantation. We report a case with pretransplant renal failure and discuss the perioperative management of such patient. The patient was 62 year-old-woman who was diagnosed with end-stage liver disease due to primary biliary cirrhosis, for which living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) was indicated. Her pretransplant serum creatinine was 9.4 mg/dl due to combination of drug-induced (antibiotics) acute tubular necrosis and hepatorenal syndrome. The management of renal failure consisted of the avoidance of calcineurin inhibitor as an induction immunosuppression and the use of perioperative continuous hemodiafiltration (CHDF). The postoperative course of the patient was complicated with CMV pneumonia and acute rejection, however she recovered and discharged on 94 POD with well-preserved graft function and normal renal function without any adverse sequela. LDLT for patients with renal failure can be performed successfully by careful management.

Acute Kidney Injury↗

Gore-Tex jump graft for portal vein thrombosis following living donor liver transplantation.

Portal vein thrombosis is a rare surgical complication following liver transplantation, which remains a cause of graft loss and death. We describe here the treatment of portal vein thrombosis following living donor liver transplantation using an extended left lobe graft. The patient was treated with a Gore-Tex vascular jump graft extra-anatomically interposed between the recipient superior mesenteric vein and the donor umbilical vein. This technique allowed the hepatic hilum to be left untouched and supplied suitable blood flow to the hepatic allograft. Our experience suggests that this innovative technical solution can be helpful in the effort to rescue cases of hepatic allograft with vascular complications.

Adult↗

The impact of splenectomy or splenic artery ligation on the outcome of a living donor adult liver transplantation using a left lobe graft.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of this study was to clarify the impact of splenectomy or splenic artery ligation on the outcome in living donor adult liver transplantation (LDALT) using a left lobe graft. METHODOLOGY: Forty-eight LDALT cases using a left lobe graft were enrolled in this study. The patients were classified into two groups: Group A (n=40), in which neither a splenectomy nor a splenic artery ligation was performed, and Group B (n=8), in which a splenectomy (n=6) or a splenic artery ligation (n=2) was performed. Indications for splenectomy were as follows: 1) demonstrating a hypersplenism and/or 2) having splenic aneurysms. RESULTS: None of the patients receiving a splenectomy or a splenic artery ligation experienced any septic complication in this series. The graft-recipient weight ratio in group B tended to be smaller than in group A. In group B, all patients were classified into Child's class C or B. The incidence of esophageal varices in group B was significantly higher than in group A. Moreover, the platelet count and the white blood cell count in group B were significantly lower than in group A. No statistical difference was found in postoperative functional cholestasis and intractable ascites. None of the participants in group B experienced both postoperative hyperbilirubinemia and intractable ascites, which were characterized as a small-for-size graft after LDALT. The patient survival rate in group B seems to be better than in group A. In a majority of the cases the portal pressure as well as the portal vein flow after a splenectomy decreased in comparison to that before the splenectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Splenectomy or splenic artery ligation is considered to be beneficial for improving the outcome in LDALT using a left lobe graft.

Adult↗

Unusual endoscopic findings of CMV esophagitis after liver transplantation.

Cytomegalovirus infections are associated with a high mortality rate after liver transplantation, but they are treated successfully by administration of the combination of ganciclovir plus intravenous immunoglobulin. We herein describe cytomegalovirus esophagitis in a patient having gastrointestinal symptoms such as dysphagia, retrosternal pain and epigastralgia after liver transplantation was detected by performing the surveillance of endoscopy. At first, the findings of endoscopy that were segmental erosive areas but no ulcerative areas on the esophageal lumen were unusual in this case of cytomegalovirus infections, but cytomegalovirus esophagitis was confirmed by cytomegalovirus immunohistochemical stain using biopsies. The patient was treated by ganciclovir at an oral dosage of 5mg/kg twice a day for 2 weeks. Our experience suggests that cytomegalovirus esophagitis should be taken into consideration when a patient has gastrointestinal symptoms such as dysphagia, retrosternal pain and epigastralgia and has endoscopic findings such as segmental erosions on the esophageal lumen despite having no cytomegalovirus-specific endoscopic findings such as ulcerative lesions.

Antiviral Agents↗