Portal hyperperfusion injury as the cause of primary nonfunction in a small-for-size liver graft-successful treatment with splenic artery ligation.

Dysfunction of a small-for-size graft is an important clinical problem after living donor liver transplantation in adults. We report a case of primary nonfunction after a small-for-size right lobe living donor liver transplant that was successfully salvaged by reduction of portal pressure and blood flow after splenic artery ligation. The case established portal hyperperfusion injury as a cause of primary nonfunction in a small-for-size graft and we recommend that portal pressure be measured when clinical suspicion arises. Splenic artery ligation is a technically simple procedure that can be applied for the prevention or treatment of such injury.