Anesthetic Considerration in Liver Transplantation

Abstract

The first successful human orthotopic liver transplantation was performed in 1963 by Starzl and his associates, at the university of Colorado in Denver U.S.A. The progress was initially slow and the survival was poor. Remarkable results have been achieved since 1981; the number of recipients and survival rates have increased dramatically:, and the procedure has become manageable. Obviously, understanding of the physiological considerations, principle functions of the liver, and pathophysiology of the liver diseases, are important factors for patients prepared for performing OLT. Selection of patients for liver transplantation is difficult and important. The criteria for selecting patients for liver transplantation determine the overall success statistics obtained by a liver transplantation centers. Recently, the technique of donor's organ preservation has been improved. Organ preserved in solution "University of Wisconsin (UW) are less likely to exhibit primary non function. Great progress has been made in anesthetic management. Liver transplantation anesthesia was pioneered by Aldrete and Farman and has been refined by teams in Pittsburgh and other centres.