Background: Although several publications have reported donor morbidities, deterioration of liver function, which may cause posthepatectomy liver failure (PHLF), was not assessed specifically.
Methods: The incidence of PHLF proposed by the International Study Group of Liver Surgery (ISGLS-PHLF) was analyzed among 257 living donors. ISGLS-PHLF was defined by an increased international normalized ratio and hyperbilirubinemia on or after postoperative day 5.
Results: ISGLS-PHLF was identified in 21 donors (8%), of which 18 (85.7%) were grade A, 2 (9.5%) were grade B, and 1 (4.8%) was grade C. The average hospital stay without ISGLS-PHLF was 15 ± 1 days, which extended along with increasing grades (p = 0.03). In univariate analysis, right hepatectomy was significantly associated with the incidence of ISGLS-PHLF (p = 0.02), and right hepatectomy (p = 0.002) and operation time (p = 0.01) in multivariate analysis. Of 176 right lobe donors, 19 (10.8%) developed ISGLS-PHLF, of which 16 (84.2%) were grade A, 2 (10.5%) were grade B, and 1 (5.3%) was grade C. Operation time was significantly associated with the incidence of ISGLS-PHLF in univariate (p = 0.002) and multivariate (p = 0.003) analyses.
Conclusions: Right lobe donation surgery is associated with a higher incidence of ISGLS-PHLF.
Keywords: ISGLS; Liver transplantation; Living donors; PHLF.