Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty for hepatic artery stenosis after living donor liver transplantation.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) for treatment of hepatic artery stenosis after living donor liver transplantation. Eighteen patients with hepatic artery stenosis after living donor liver transplantation were included in this study. The success rate and complications of PTA and recurrent stenosis of the hepatic artery were evaluated. Seventeen of 18 patients (94.4%) were successfully treated without complication by a first PTA procedure. Recurrence of hepatic artery stenosis occurred in 6 patients (33.3%). Repeated PTA was performed 12 times for the 6 patients. Two complications occurred as arterial dissection and perforation. As a consequence, the complication rate was 6.7%, involving 2 of 30 procedures in total. In conclusion, PTA is effective for treatment of hepatic artery stenosis after living donor liver transplantation without an increase in the complication rate. Copyright 2006 AASLD