Role of Color Doppler Ultrasonography in Evaluation of Postoperative Vascular Complications of Liver Transplantation

Abstract

Liver transplantation is the only curative treatment for end-stage liver disease.Over the last few decades, advancement in surgical techniques and perioperative management has greatly improved the outcomes of liver transplantation. Early detection of vascular complications by postoperative Doppler imaging has played a vital role in decreasing the incidence of graft failure (Rupan et al., 2014). Complications of liver transplantation can be mechanical or non-mechanical, post-operative mechanical complications are related to problems with hepatic artery, bile ducts, main portal vein and inferior vena cava. Liver transplant recipients are followed up closely after surgery to evaluate for acute rejection and other complica¬tions. Acute rejection has a nonspecific clinical manifestation and can be definitively diagnosed only with graft biopsy. Therefore, the role of noninvasive imaging is to exclude other compli¬cations that can clinically mimic acute rejection (Ajay et al., 2010). Doppler ultrasound plays an important role in the postoperative management of hepatic transplantation, by enabling early detection and treatment of various vascular complications(Rupan et al., 2014).