Vascular closure staples for portal vein reconstruction in living-donor liver transplantation

Background Portal vein reconstruction is still a crucial problem in living-donor liver transplantation. Vascular closure staples (VCS) have been applied for small peripheral and large vessels because of the technical ease with which they can be employed. We describe here our experience with portal vein reconstruction in living donor-liver transplantation and compare VCS with conventional sutures in portal vein reconstruction. Methods The anastomosis between the donor portal vein and recipient portal vein or the right external iliac vein graft was created using either VCS or conventional sutures. Results The stenotic ratios were .51 ± .15 and .79 ± .25 for the conventional sutures and VCS, respectively. The stenotic ratio was significantly lower in VCS compared with conventional sutures. Conclusions VCS compared with conventional sutures has the advantage of low risk of anastomotic stenosis.