Right posterior segment graft for living donor liver transplantation: A systematic review

The clinical significance of the right posterior segment (RPS) graft in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is unknown because of its limited use and technical concerns. This study aimed to review published studies investigating outcomes of RPS grafts. The systematic literature search was conducted to retrieve data from Embase, Medline Ovid, Web of Science, Cochrane CENTRAL, and Google Scholar. Among the 388 articles, six retrospective studies from Asian countries were included. The overall incidences of major and minor complications after RPS graft procurement were 5.6% and 34.6%, respectively and no donor deaths were reported. RPS graft recipients had the following postoperative complications: overall mortality rate, 14.5%; bile leakage, 8.7%, biliary stenosis, 18.8%, hepatic artery thrombosis, 8.7%, and liver re-transplantation, 2.9%. The RPS graft can be considered as an option for a living liver graft respecting donor safety under strict selection criteria and surgical strategy. The precise evaluation and understanding of anatomical variations and volumetric analyses is critical for selecting donors and planning the surgical strategy in the RPS grafts procurement. The RPS grafts procurement requires carefully dissection of the hepatic artery and portal vein, safely confirmation of the bile duct, and precisely parenchymal transection. However, further experience is needed to clarify the significance of the RPS graft in LDLT. The special technical requirements should limit this donor procedure to centers with a high level of experience in LDLT.