Rapid Flush Technique for Donor Hepatectomy: Safety and Efficacy of an Improved Method of Liver Recovery for Transplantation

Abstract

Techniques for multiple organ procurement of the heart, liver, and kidneys were first described by Starzl1 and have been adopted throughout the world. Although this conventional technique provides usable organs in the majority of cases it has certain limitations principally due to the need for time-consuming dissection of the hepatic hilar structures. These limitations, which became critically evident in the unstable donor, have led to the evolution and refinement of this technique2 and its eventual standardization. The final simplified version, commonly referred to as the rapid flush technique, requires no preliminary hilar dissection and allows for rapid organectomy in a bloodless field after early in situ core cooling.3 This report describes a 2-year retrospective review of 437 donor hepatectomies comparing our experience with both the conventional and rapid flush techniques.