Portal vein thrombosis in liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND Portal vein thrombosis was considered a contraindication for liver transplantation in the past because of the high morbidity and mortality rates. Many advances made the results better. AIM Review the advances and surgical strategies for liver transplantation in presence of portal vein thrombosis. METHOD Survey of publications in Medline, Scielo and Lilacs databases. Headings crossed: portal vein thrombosis, liver transplantation, vascular complications, jump graft, graft failure, multivisceral transplant. Data analyzed were epidemiology, risk factors, classification, diagnosis, surgical strategies and outcomes. CONCLUSION Portal vein thrombosis is not a contraindication for liver transplantation anymore. There are many strategies to perform the liver transplantation in this condition, depending on portal vein thrombosis grade. Regardless higher morbidity and re-trhombosis rates, the outcomes of liver transplantation in portal vein thrombosis are similar to series without portal vein thrombosis.