Reoperation etiologies in the initial hospital stay after liver transplantation: a single-center study from Iran

Abstract

Background: Liver transplantation (LT) is widely recognized as a life-saving therapy for patients with end-stage liver disease. However, due to certain posttransplant complications, reoperations or endovascular interventions may be necessary to improve patient outcomes. This study was conducted to examine reasons for reoperation during the initial hospital stay following LT and to identify its predictive factors.

Methods: We evaluated the incidence and etiology of reoperation in 133 patients who underwent LT from brain-dead donors over a 9-year period based on our experiences.

Results: A total of 52 reoperations were performed for 29 patients, with 17 patients requiring one reoperation, seven requiring two, three requiring three, one requiring four, and one requiring eight. Four patients underwent liver retransplantation. The most common cause of reoperation was intra-abdominal bleeding. Hypofibrinogenemia was identified as the sole predisposing factor for bleeding. Frequencies of comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension did not differ significantly between groups. Among patients who underwent reoperation due to bleeding, the mean plasma fibrinogen level was 180.33±68.21 mg/dL, while among reoperated patients without bleeding, it was 240.62±105.14 mg/dL (P=0.045; standard mean difference, 0.61; 95% confidence interval, 0.19-1.03). The initial hospital stay was significantly longer for the reoperated group (47.5±15.5 days) than for the non-reoperated group (22.5±5.5 days).

Conclusions: Meticulous pretransplant assessment and postoperative care are essential for the early identification of predisposing factors and posttransplant complications. In order to enhance graft and patient outcomes, any complications should be addressed without hesitation, and appropriate intervention or surgery should not be delayed.

Keywords: Etiology; Liver transplantation; Postoperative complications; Repeat surgery.