Anesthesia for liver transplant surgery.

Liver transplantation offers patients with liver disease an optimal chance for long-term survival. Current indications, preoperative assessment, patient selection, intraoperative anesthetic management and outcomes are described. The management of special situations, including retransplantation, pediatric transplantation, and fulminant hepatic failure are also reviewed. The success of liver transplantation has led to increased demand. This demand, coupled with a nonexpanding supply of deceased donor organs, has resulted in a shortage of grafts and prolonged waiting times. Novel solutions using segmental liver grafts from living donors, and the challenges associated with this approach, are discussed.