Review
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World J Gastroenterol. Nov 28, 2013; 19(44): 7922-7929
Published online Nov 28, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i44.7922
Liver function impairment in liver transplantation and after extended hepatectomy
Matteo Serenari, Matteo Cescon, Alessandro Cucchetti, Antonio Daniele Pinna
Matteo Serenari, Matteo Cescon, Alessandro Cucchetti, Antonio Daniele Pinna, General Surgery and Transplant Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
Author contributions: Serenari M, Cucchetti A performed the literature search and wrote the paper; Cescon M provided critical expertise and reviewed the paper; Pinna AD helped with focusing the topics and provided critical expertise.
Correspondence to: Alessandro Cucchetti, MD, General Surgery and Transplant Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Policlinico Sant’Orsola-Malpighi, Via Massarenti 9, 40138 Bologna, Italy. aleqko@libero.it
Telephone: +39-51-6363721 Fax: +39-51-304902
Received: August 30, 2013
Revised: October 3, 2013
Accepted: October 13, 2013
Published online: November 28, 2013
Core Tip

Core tip: In this review we focus on the small-for-size syndrome and post-hepatectomy liver failure, the most feared complications of liver surgery, fundamentally similar in pathogenesis and clinical manifestations, occurring when the residual liver is not large enough to accommodate the markedly increased portal vein blood flow. Our aim is to simplify a concept, which has been a major concern in hepatic surgery for some time. Many efforts have been and are being made to overcome such an important problem in this field.