During the recipient hepatectomy in liver transplantation, preservation of the retrohepatic segment of the inferior vena cava has several advantages: it decreases warm ischemia time by eliminating the infrahepatic caval anastomosis, eliminates the need for venovenous bypass and eases retransplantation. Removal of the liver of the dog without sacrificing the inferior vena cava has been considered impossible because of the intrahepatic course of the vena cava at the sites of entry of the hepatic veins. The following report reviews the history of the piggyback method, and discuss about the feasibility of the total removal of the liver without injury to the vena cava in the dog.
Piggyback; Hepatectomy; Liver transplantation; Venovenous bypass; Inferior vena cava; Dog
