Living Donor Liver Transplants Improved Outcome Using CT

Radiologists in Canada are now using computed tomography (CT) imaging for living-donor liver transplantation. This imaging technique has been shown to reveal relevant liver anatomy, and in particular, can enhance high-resolution imaging of the vital bile duct anatomy.

The University of Alberta Hospital (UAH; Canada) is one of only a few centers in Canada that perform living donor liver transplantation, a surgical procedure developed in the late 1980s that expands the organ donor pool. Approximately 80 liver transplants are done per year in Alberta, 10 of those being living-donor. All potential liver transplant donors are assessed based on considerations such as the size and composition of the liver and vascular and bile duct anatomy.

"CT scans provide a clear image of the important ducts we need to see,” said Dr. Gavin Low, a clinical fellow in the University of Alberta's Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and author of a recent study describing this process. In the past, radiologists have only been using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system to scan possible donors for bile duct anatomy, however, Dr. Low said that, "by using CT imaging the results are much more accurate and reliable for the surgeons.”

Currently, possible donors are screened with both MRI and CT scans but Dr. Low reported that he hopes to one day only use CT imaging, adding, "all-in-one imaging will speed up the process and make living-donor evaluation more convenient for potential donors.”

The hospital evaluates as many as four transplant patients using CT imaging every month.


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