What Type of Tubing is Used in a Liver Transplant Bypass?

Southwestern Medical Center describes a liver transplant as a complex procedure that includes the bypassing of certain veins with shunts and catheters and the installation of drainage tubes. While the shunts and catheters remain in the body, the drainage tubes come out during recuperation.

Gott Shunts

• During the transplant operation, according to Southwestern Medical Center, Gott shunts bypass the blood from the vena cava and the liver's portal vein to a pre-harvested axillary vein, which returns it to the heart.

Catheters

• Heart-bypass catheters may be used if the axillary vein is too small to accommodate a 7-millimeter Gott shunt.

T-tube

• According to the University of Southern California guide page, a T-tube drains bile from the body into an external bag. This tube remains in place over the next several months.

Jackson-Pratt Drains

• Jackson-Pratt drains remain inside the body for part of the patient's hospital stay. USC explains that these drains remove excess fluids surrounding the liver.

Complications

• USC warns that in some cases, the T-tube may cause skin infections or become dislodged from its correct position.