Role of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the evaluation of post-liver transplant vasculature

Liver transplantation is a frequently used treatment for patients with end-stage liver disease and ultrasound is often the first-line imaging technique for detection of vascular complications after liver transplant. Although colour Doppler ultrasound is a good screening method for evaluation of post...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical radiology 2020-11, Vol.75 (11), p.832-844
Main Authors: Goh, Y., Neo, W.T., Teo, Y.M., Lim, Y.T., Dewi, M., Ganpathi, I.S., Bonney, G.K., Mali, V., Krishnan, P., Kapur, J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Contrast Media
Hepatic Artery - diagnostic imaging
Hepatic Veins - diagnostic imaging
Humans
Liver - blood supply
Liver - diagnostic imaging
Liver Circulation
Liver Transplantation - adverse effects
Portal Vein - diagnostic imaging
Ultrasonography - methods
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Summary:Liver transplantation is a frequently used treatment for patients with end-stage liver disease and ultrasound is often the first-line imaging technique for detection of vascular complications after liver transplant. Although colour Doppler ultrasound is a good screening method for evaluation of post-liver transplant vasculature, it has limitations in evaluating small-calibre vessels and vessels in close proximity. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) has been proposed to overcome these limitations by improving visualisation of post-liver transplant vasculature and reducing the number of false-positive cases, which necessitate unnecessary additional investigations such as computed tomography or angiography. Liver transplant anatomy and the wide array of post-transplant imaging findings on colour Doppler have already been well described but literature on the use of CEUS and its image interpretation remain scarce. This review aims to discuss the indications for CEUS after liver transplant, to demonstrate CEUS technique and familiarise readers with the imaging appearances of post-transplant vascular complications on CEUS.
ISSN:0009-9260
1365-229X
DOI:10.1016/j.crad.2020.05.003