Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center offers a glimpse into the intricate process of living donor liver transplantation, a vital procedure often employed to treat a range of liver diseases, especially given the scarcity of deceased donors. In this detailed animation, surgeons meticulously prepare a portion of the adult donor’s liver, specifically the left lateral section, for transplantation into a child recipient. The delicate operation involves meticulous preparation of vital structures including the artery, portal vein, hepatic vein, and bile duct for reimplantation.

Simultaneously, in an adjacent operating room, the child’s diseased liver is excised, paving the way for the transplant. Once the donor liver segment is meticulously prepared, it is extracted, flushed with a preservative solution, and seamlessly transplanted into the child. Remarkably, over subsequent months, both the portion of the liver donated by the adult and the transplanted segment in the child exhibit regenerative growth, ensuring that the liver’s volume remains consistent post-surgery.

This sophisticated procedure underscores the critical role of living donor liver transplantation in addressing a spectrum of liver ailments, offering hope to patients facing the daunting challenges of organ failure. As medical advancements continue to evolve, this approach stands as a testament to the innovative solutions driving progress in the field of pediatric transplantation.