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World J Gastroenterol. Dec 28, 2026; 32(48): 121888
Published online Dec 28, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.121888
Arterial vs venous conduits for hepatic artery bypass in pediatric living donor liver transplantation: A retrospective study
Bo Li, Xiao-Zhen Wei, Jiu-Lin Song, Tao Lv, Jian Yang, Yu-Kui Ma, Ji-Chun Zhao, Min Jiang, Jia-Yin Yang, Bin Huang
Bo Li, Yu-Kui Ma, Ji-Chun Zhao, Bin Huang, Department of Vascular Surgery, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China
Bo Li, Tao Lv, Jian Yang, Jia-Yin Yang, Laboratory of Liver Transplantation, Frontiers Science Center for Disease-related Molecular Network, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China
Xiao-Zhen Wei, Department of Anesthesiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China
Jiu-Lin Song, Department of Pediatric Surgery, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China
Tao Lv, Jian Yang, Jia-Yin Yang, Liver Transplant Center, Organ Transplant Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China
Min Jiang, Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, West China School of Public Health, West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
Co-first authors: Bo Li and Xiao-Zhen Wei.
Author contributions: Li B and Wei XZ collected all clinical data, performed data analysis, and drafted the manuscript as co-first authors; Song JL, Lv T, Yang J, Ma YK, Zhao JC, and Yang JY participated in the study design and contributed to intraoperative data collection from donors and pediatric recipients; Jiang M participated in the study design, data processing, and data analysis; Huang B participated in the design and oversight of the study and critically reviewed and revised the manuscript for important intellectual content; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
AI contribution statement: AI tools were not used.
Supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China, No. 2024YFC2418104; and the Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province, No. 2024NSFSC1898.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Boards of West China Hospital of Sichuan University (No. 2023-2274).
Informed consent statement: The need for patient consent was waived due to the retrospective nature of the study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interest in publishing the manuscript.
Data sharing statement: The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Bin Huang, PhD, Chief, Professor, Department of Vascular Surgery, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, No. 37 Guo Xue Xiang, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China.
xgwkhb@126.com
Received: April 9, 2026
Revised: June 29, 2026
Accepted: October 8, 2026
Published online: December 28, 2026
Processing time: 209 Days and 4.3 Hours
BACKGROUND
Both venous and arterial conduits have been applied for hepatic artery bypass (HAB) in pediatric liver transplantation (LT). However, there were limited comparisons on their efficacy.
AIM
To compare the efficacy of arterial versus venous conduits for HAB in pediatric living donor LT.
METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed children who received living donor LT between January 2015 and July 2023. Eligible children were categorized according to conduit type to either the great saphenous vein (GSV) conduit group or the arterial conduit group. Their perioperative characteristics and outcomes were analyzed and compared.
RESULTS
A total of 67 children were included, with 34 and 33 children in GSV and arterial conduit groups, respectively. Most GSV conduits (28/34) were harvested from living liver donors, many of whom reported various postoperative local complications. All arterial conduits were from donation after circulatory death. There were no significant differences in the perioperative characteristics and postoperative complications between two groups. There were three cases of hepatic artery thrombosis, with two and one in the GSV and arterial conduit groups, respectively. In addition, there were no significant differences in 1-day, 7-day, and 1-year hepatic artery patency rates, 30-day, 1-year, and 3-year graft survival rates, and 30-day, 1-year, and 3-year overall survival rates between the two groups.
CONCLUSION
No statistically significant differences were observed between arterial and GSV conduit groups for HAB in pediatric living donor LT. Both may serve as viable grafts for HAB.
Core Tip: Both venous and arterial conduits have been applied for hepatic artery bypass (HAB) in pediatric living donor liver transplantation. However, comparisons of their efficacy are limited. Here, we showed that no statistically significant differences were observed between arterial and great saphenous vein conduits for HAB in pediatric living donor liver transplantation. Both may serve as viable grafts for HAB.
