Prospective Randomized Single-center Trial Comparing Biliary Anastomosis Using Surgical Loupe Versus Microscope in Living Donor Liver Transplantation

Liver transplantation (LT) is the most effective treatment modality in patients with end-stage liver disease and it is also established as a viable treatment option in the field of oncology. Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) using the right lobe (RL) is a major achievement despite its technical challenges, which has created a significant increase in graft supply. While a secure bile duct anastomosis is one of the basic principles of a successful liver transplant procedure, biliary reconstruction remains the Achilles' heel of LDLT because of the high incidence of posttransplant biliary complications associated with significant recipient morbidity and mortality. Some of these complications are related to technical difficulties due to multiple small biliary orifices, particularly in right lobe grafts. In our center, we have been using microsurgical reconstruction technique for duct-to-duct biliary anastomosis in such grafts. The routine use of this technique has been shown to significantly decrease biliary complications in single-center retrospective studies. However, prospective controlled studies comparing microsurgical and standard biliary reconstruction techniques are lacking. In this study, our objective is to compare posttransplant complications of the two techniques of biliary reconstruction in RL LDLT.

40 patients will be included in the study. They will be randomly allocated in the equal groups.İn group 1 biliary anastomosis will be performed using surgical loupes and İn group 2 biliary anastomosis will be performed using microscope. The patients will be followed for one year after the transplant to compare biliary complications.