Successful living donor liver transplantation with a graft-to-recipient weight ratio of 0.41 without portal flow modulation: A case report

BACKGROUND: There have been numerous efforts to lower the limit of minimum graft size to meet the metabolic demand of recipients in adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). We experienced a successful case of LDLT using a very-small-for-size graft without portal flow modulation such as splenectomy or portocaval shunt. CASE SUMMARY: A 49-year-old man (weighing 91 kg) suffering hepatocellular carcinoma accompanied with hepatitis B virus related cirrhosis underwent LDLT. The one and only voluntary donor was his 17-year-old daughter whose body weight was 50 kg with a body mass index (BMI) of 18.3. The procured right liver graft was 411 g with a real graft-to-recipient weight ratio (GRWR) of 0.41%, the smallest to be reported in the literature. Both the recipient and donor had an uneventful recovery and were discharged on days 15 and 8, respectively, with normal liver function. The father and daughter have had no complication so far and are still in good health with normal liver function 81 mo after LDLT. CONCLUSION: Satisfactory outcomes can be achieved in LDLT with a GRWR as low as 0.41% even without using portal flow modulation in highly selected patients.