Hepatic Artery Resistive Indices on Doppler Ultrasound at Long Term Follow Up in Liver Transplant Recipients: Importance and Implications

P. Serrano Rodriguez, L. Cramer, K. Jones, E. Lemmon, T. Masakadza, A. Milukas, R. Watkins, D. Gerber, C. Desai.

Abdominal Transplant Surgery, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.

Meeting: 2018 American Transplant Congress

Abstract number: A252

Keywords: Hepatic artery, Liver grafts, Ultrasonography

Session Information

Session Name: Poster Session A: Liver Retransplantation and Other Complications

Session Type: Poster Session

Date: Saturday, June 2, 2018

Session Time: 5:30pm-7:30pm

Presentation Time: 5:30pm-7:30pm

Location: Hall 4EF

Ultrasound Doppler has a proven value in early post transplant period, however the importance at the long term follow up is not proven. Doppler results often report altered resistive indices without a clear evidence base implications of it in the morbidity, graft survival and mortality.

Aim of this study is to retrospectively review and analyze Doppler results and find its value correlated with the graft related problems.

Methods we retrospectively analyzed 168 adult patients transplanted between 2007 and 2012 in a single center. All the patients that received multi organ transplants and patients than had a graft loss before the one year mark were excluded. It is our institutional policy to do annual doppler as follow up of all liver transplant recipients, disregarding off liver function test. RI from 0.6-0.9 were considered as normal values.

In both groups with the normal RI (group 1) and abnormal RI (group 2), patients were evaluated for liver functions, doppler reporting off stenosis, intervention done and patients and graft survival.

Results: Group 1 has 127 patients group 2 has 41 patients, 1 year survival is 96% (122) and 94% (39) in group 1 and 2 respectively, 3 year survival is 95% (120) and 90% (37) in group 1 and 2 respectively and 5 year survival is 90% (114) and 80% (33) in group 1 and 2 respectively. This results were not statistically significant, furthermore none of the graft losses were related to vascular complications. There was no difference in complication rate between the two groups. In conclusion Liver doppler continues to be an excellent tool for transplant surgeons in the perioperative period but we did not observe any long term benefits of performing an annual liver doppler in liver transplant recipients. With increasing cost restriction probably it is worthwhile dropping the practice of doing routine dopplers in this patients that are far out from surgery.

CITATION INFORMATION: Serrano Rodriguez P., Cramer L., Jones K., Lemmon E., Masakadza T., Milukas A., Watkins R., Gerber D., Desai C. Hepatic Artery Resistive Indices on Doppler Ultrasound at Long Term Follow Up in Liver Transplant Recipients: Importance and Implications Am J Transplant. 2017;17 (suppl 3).

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Rodriguez PSerrano, Cramer L, Jones K, Lemmon E, Masakadza T, Milukas A, Watkins R, Gerber D, Desai C. Hepatic Artery Resistive Indices on Doppler Ultrasound at Long Term Follow Up in Liver Transplant Recipients: Importance and Implications [abstract]. https://atcmeetingabstracts.com/abstract/hepatic-artery-resistive-indices-on-doppler-ultrasound-at-long-term-follow-up-in-liver-transplant-recipients-importance-and-implications/. Accessed May 8, 2025.

« Back to 2018 American Transplant Congress