A case report of anesthesia management in the liver transplantation recipient with porphyria -a case report-

Abstract

Porphyrias are a group of diseases characterized by an enzyme deficiency in the heme biosynthesis pathway, resulting in accumulation of precursor molecules in the tissue. Some porphyric patients develop progressive liver disease that requires liver transplantation. This case report describes special anesthetic challenges, including careful selection of drugs and the use of special filters that can exclude harmful wavelengths of ultraviolet, in a patient with porphyria who underwent living donor liver transplantation. Understanding the patient's status and disease process, and avoiding triggering factors of porphyria attacks, are important for successful liver transplantation anesthesia in patients with porphyria. © the Korean Society of Anesthesiologists, 2012.