Anaesthesia for Liver Transplantation

Abstract Since the first liver transplantation at the Kaunas Clinic of the Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LUHS), in 2000, many changes have been implemented and an increasing number of cases led to the development of expertise. The aim of this article was to summarise 12-years out of liver transplantation experience. Data was obtained retrospectively from inpatient medical records at the Hospital of LUHS, Kaunas Clinic. All cases of liver transplantations from November 2009 to September 2021 were included (n = 96). The median age of transplant recipients was 50 years (IQR 46–56). Two-thirds of recipients were male (n = 66, 69%). The mean Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score was 23 (SD 6). The most common indication for liver transplantation was hepatitis C virus-related end-stage liver disease (n = 24, 25%). Immediate extubation was performed with a median of 63% of cases (IQR 14.3–75.7%). We further compared data between the early (November 2009 – December 2015) and late phases (January 2016 – September 2021) of experience: the number of liver transplantation cases increased by 66% from 36 to 60), MELD scores stayed similar (an average of 22 vs 24, p = 0.282), and mean intraoperative time did not change significantly (543 minutes vs 496 minutes, p = 0.078). Liver transplantation has been gaining momentum in Lithuania. Increasing experience enables our centre to meet an increasing demand for liver transplantations.