Advantages of using indocyanine green in liver transplantation: a narrative review

OBJECTIVE: To assess the role of indocyanine green in liver transplantation and to lay the foundation for its application in clinical practice. BACKGROUND: Liver transplantation offers the best prognosis for patients with end-stage liver disease. However, this invasive procedure involves multiple well-known challenges, including complications due to graft rejection and dysfunction, surgical risks, and critical postoperative management. Intraoperative methods to assess graft function rely on conventional methods, such as blood chemistries and Doppler ultrasound. However, these methods are limited in their abilities to assess liver conditions, predict functional outcomes of the graft, and prevent surgical complications. Thus, identifying a more effective and comprehensive detection method is necessary. METHODS: The information used to write this narrative review was collected from the references’ opinions and conclusions. CONCLUSIONS: Indocyanine green can effectively monitor blood flow during surgery, evaluate donor graft function, and monitor the recipients functional status during and after surgery. It may also help surgeons to predict the prognosis of patients throughout the liver transplantation process, from assessing patients for liver transplantation status to postoperative management. Therefore indocyanine green should be routinely used in liver transplantation to help re-organize the transplant waiting list and improve the surgical outcomes of liver transplantation patients.