Dual-phase MSCT angiography used in preoperative evaluation for liver transplantation candidates

Objective:To study whether MSCTA could be used for preoperative evaluation for orthotopic liver transplantation candidates.Methods:Eighty consecutive potential candidates for liver transplantation were evaluated with dual-phase CT angiography with 3D volume rendering.The two phases were used to create vascular maps of the celiac axis (including the origin of the hepatic common artery,left gastric artery and splenic artery)and origin of the superior mesenteric artery and to analyze portal vein thrombosis and vascular collateralization of portal vein.Statistical analyses were calculated by using χ 2 test for differences between the 80 cases of hepatic arterial anatomy and 200 cases of michels′ anatomic ateas.Appearance of MSCTA and operative results of 16 cases were analyzed.Results:MSCTA defined hepatic common artery and portal venous structures of 80 casas.Sixty-two patients (77.5%) had conventional and eighteen patients (22.5%)had nonconventional hepatic arterial anatomy.Significant differrence was found between the two groups in anatomy of hepatic artery(P0.05).Portal vein thrombosis was shown in fifteen patients.Six patients had celiac axis stenosis,two patients had SA aneurysms,and two patients had small-caliber hepatic arterial vessels.Vascular structures of 16 operative cases were well defined.Conclusion:As a noninvasive examination,MSCTA can provide a comprehensive preoperative vascular evaluation for liver transplantation candidates.