Soo Joo Choi, Mi Sook Gwak, Justin Sang Ko, Gaab Soo Kim, Hyun Joo Ahn, Mikyung Yang, Tae Soo Hahm, Sang Min Lee, Myung Hee Kim, Jae Won Joh – 27 December 2006 – The use of epidural catheters has been a subject of active debate in living liver donors because of the possible postoperative coagulation derangement and the subsequent risk of epidural hematoma. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety of epidural catheters in relation to the changes in coagulation profile based on a review of previously published literature and the results of our 360 donors.

27 December 2006

Dieter C. Broering, Jessica Walter, Xavier Rogiers – 27 December 2006 – The major limitation in adult‐to‐adult living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is an adequate graft size with special regard to the safety of the donor. Only 20% of the evaluated donors are suitable to donate the right liver, depending mainly on the critical remnant liver volume. We report 2 cases of adult‐to‐adult LDLT using dual grafts. In the first case we implanted a left lateral lobe together with a left lobe; in the second case we used a left lateral and a right lobe.

Wilfredo Polido, Lee Kang Hoe, Ng Kheng Siang, Tan Kai Chah – 27 December 2006 – Acute myocardial infarction is a tedious risk inherent in all major surgeries. Preoperative assessment has been directed mainly to assess its risk because it carries with it a very high mortality. Living donor liver transplantation has been subject to inquest not only because of the morbidity risk but also because of the mortality risk it carries to the live donor. We report a case of a 39‐year‐old donor who died of acute myocardial infarction following right‐lobe donor hepatectomy.

27 December 2006

Daisuke Morioka, Hiroto Egawa, Mureo Kasahara, Tomoyasu Jo, Seisuke Sakamoto, Yasuhiro Ogura, Hironori Haga, Yasutsugu Takada, Hiroshi Shimada, Koichi Tanaka – 27 December 2006 – Patient selection criteria of deceased donor liver transplantation for primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) are almost completely established. The aim of this study was to establish selection criteria for both patients and donors of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) for PBC.

Marina Berenguer, Ana Royuela, Javier Zamora – 27 December 2006 – A controversy exists over whether the outcome of a hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐infection‐related liver transplant differs based on the calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) used. We have performed a systematic review and a subsequent meta‐analysis evaluating tacrolimus (Tac)‐based vs. cyclosporine A‐based immunosuppression in HCV‐infected liver transplant recipients. Searches were conducted to locate randomized controlled trials comparing Tac vs. cyclosporine A.

Paul J. Thuluvath – 27 December 2006

Norah A. Terrault, Mitchell L. Shiffman, Anna S.F. Lok, Sammy Saab, Lan Tong, Robert S. Brown, Gregory T. Everson, K. Rajender Reddy, Jeffrey H. Fair, Laura M. Kulik, Timothy L. Pruett, Leonard B.

Ekaterina Katenz, Florian Wolfgang Rudolf Vondran, Ruth Schwartlander, Gesine Pless, Xiaobing Gong, Xiandong Cheng, Peter Neuhaus, Igor Maximilian Sauer – 27 December 2006 – Problems with the limited availability of human hepatocytes for cell transplantation may be overcome by efficient cryopreservation techniques and formation of appropriate cell banking. In this study we investigated the effect of the disaccharide trehalose on the cryopreservation of human hepatocytes.