A review by LMP’s Dr. Oyedele Ayedi has been published in Clinical Liver Disease, a multimedia review journal by the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD).
In the review, Dr. Ayedi discusses common liver biopsy findings in patients who have recently undergone liver transplant or resection.
Postoperative liver failure can occur in 0.7% to 9.1% of cases. Biopsies performed after operation can be used to uncover a range of surgery-related complications including small-for-size syndrome, ischemia and adverse drug reactions, as well as complications from bile duct injury, vascular outflow obstruction and other hemodynamic abnormalities. This knowledge is useful for management of post-operative liver dysfunction.
Liver pathology in the postoperative period includes evaluation of the resected liver for underlying/preexisting pathological processes, which may not be apparent before surgery. In addition, more extensive metastases than radiologically evident should be reported.
Findings relating to preoperative therapies should be documented because they could have an impact on postoperative course. Additionally, in the immediate post-transplant period, liver biopsy could sometimes be the only way to resolve liver functional abnormalities.
This review will hopefully serve as a reference handbook in trying to resolve perioperative complications for pathologists, surgeons, intensive care physicians, and other care providers.
Click HERE for full publication.
The Pathology Report 
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