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World J Gastrointest Surg. Jan 27, 2019; 11(1): 11-18
Published online Jan 27, 2019. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v11.i1.11
Intraoperative cell salvage with autologous transfusion in liver transplantation
Marcelo A Pinto, Marcio F Chedid, Leo Sekine, Andre P Schmidt, Rodrigo P Capra, Carolina Prediger, João E Prediger, Tomaz JM Grezzana-Filho, Cleber RP Kruel
Marcelo A Pinto, Marcio F Chedid, Rodrigo P Capra, Carolina Prediger, João E Prediger, Tomaz JM Grezzana-Filho, Cleber RP Kruel, Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Medical School of UFRGS, Porto Alegre 90035-007, Brazil
Leo Sekine, Division of Hematology, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Medical School of UFRGS, Porto Alegre 90035-007, Brazil
Andre P Schmidt, Division of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Medical School of UFRGS, Porto Alegre 90035-007, Brazil
Author contributions: All authors wrote the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Marcio F Chedid, MD, PhD, Doctor, Professor, Surgeon, Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Medical School of UFRGS, Rua Ramiro Barcelos 2350, Sixth Floor, Room 600, Porto Alegre 90035-903, Brazil. marciochedid@hotmail.com
Telephone: +55-51-997721980
Received: November 27, 2018
Peer-review started: November 27, 2018
First decision: December 10, 2018
Revised: December 17, 2018
Accepted: December 29, 2018
Article in press: December 30, 2018
Published online: January 27, 2019
Abstract

Liver transplant (LT) is the primary treatment for patients with end-stage liver disease. About 25000 LTs are performed annually in the world. The potential for intraoperative bleeding is quite variable. However, massive bleeding is common and requires blood transfusion. Allogeneic blood transfusion has an immunosuppressive effect and an impact on recipient survival, in addition to the risk of transmission of viral infections and transfusion errors, among others. Techniques to prevent excessive bleeding or to use autologous blood have been proposed to minimize the negative effects of allogeneic blood transfusion. Intraoperative reinfusion of autologous blood is possible through previous self-donation or blood collected during the operation. However, LT does not normally allow autologous transfusion by prior self-donation. Hence, using autologous blood collected intraoperatively is the most feasible option. The use of intraoperative blood salvage autotransfusion (IBSA) minimizes the perioperative use of allogeneic blood, preventing negative transfusion effects without negatively impacting other clinical outcomes. The use of IBSA in patients with cancer is still a matter of debate due to the theoretical risk of reinfusion of tumor cells. However, studies have demonstrated the safety of IBSA in several surgical procedures, including LT for hepatocellular carcinoma. Considering the literature available to date, we can state that IBSA should be routinely used in LT, both in patients with cancer and in patients with benign diseases.

Keywords: Liver transplantation, Cell saver, Hepatocellular carcinoma, Blood transfusion, Cell salvage

Core tip: Intraoperative blood salvage autotransfusion is routinely used in liver transplant. In this article, we review its indications and contraindications, advantages and disadvantages, and cost-effectiveness.