Publications
The feasibility and applications of non-invasive cardiac output monitoring, thrombo-elastography and transit-time flow measurement in living-related renal transplantation surgery: results of a prospective pilot observational study
Delayed graft function (DGF) remains a significant and detrimental post-operative phenomenon following living-related renal allograft transplantation, with a published incidence of up to 15%. Early therapeutic vasodilatory interventions have been shown to improve DGF, and modifications to immunosuppressive regimens may subsequently lessen its impact. This pilot study assesses the potential applicability of perioperative non-invasive cardiac output monitoring (NICOM), transit-time flow monitoring (TTFM) of the transplant renal artery and pre-/perioperative thromboelasto-graphy (TEG) in the early prediction of DGF and perioperative complications.
Methods: Ten consecutive living-related renal allograft recipients were studied. Non-invasive cardiac output monitoring commenced immediately following induction of anaesthesia and was maintained throughout the perioperative period. Doppler-based TTFM was performed during natural haemostatic pauses in the transplant surgery: immediately following graft reperfusion and following ureteric implantation. Central venous blood sampling for TEG was performed following induction of anaesthesia and during abdominal closure.
Results: See more...
Intraoperative Graft Verification in Renal Transplants
The success of an arterial reconstruction is dependent on multiple factors, including patient selection, quality of the vessels, type of vascular conduit employed, and the surgical technique adopted. Transit time flow measurement is a technique that is now the standard of care for immediate graft patency verification following coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Read more...
Liver and Systemic Hemodynamics in Children With Cirrhosis: Impact on the Surgical Management in Pediatric Living Donor Liver Transplantation
Cirrhosis in adults is associated with modifications of systemic and liver hemodynamics, whereas little is known about the pediatric population. The aim of this work was to investigate whether alterations of hepatic and systemic hemodynamics were correlated with cirrhosis severity in children. The impact of hemodynamic findings on surgical management in pediatric living donor liver transplantation (LT) was evaluated. Liver and systemic hemodynamics were studied prospectively in 52 children (median age, 1 year; 33 with biliary atresia [BA]). The hemodynamics of native liver were studied preoperatively by Doppler ultrasound and intraoperatively using invasive flowmetry. Portosystemic gradient was invasively measured. Read more...
Intraoperative Flow Measurement of Native Liver and Allograft During Orthotopic Liver Transplantation in Children
Hepatic hemodynamic changes during orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in children have not yet been studied. We measured intraoperative portal vein flow (PVF) and hepatic arterial flow (HAF) (mL/min) in 53 children and 58 grafts during OLT.
Flows were measured in the native organ and in the allograft. In the native liver, PVF and HAF are similar; after transplantation they return to the physiological situation. Read more...