[Primary graft failure as the result of unsuspected severe steatosis in the donor liver].

Primary non-function is an serious complication after orthotopic liver transplantation. A relationship between the severity of fatty infiltration in the donor liver and immediate graft function has been described. We present two cases of primary non-function, attributable to the presence of severe steatosis in the donor liver. They were two recipients with a deteriorated clinical status before liver transplantation. In both cases, liver fatty infiltration was not suspected because of the macroscopic aspect of the donor liver at procurement. In time 0 biopsies, hematoxyllin-eosin stained sections evaluated the degree of severity of the fatty infiltration as moderate (30-60% of hepatocytes involved), while the Sudan stained sections revealed more degree of severity (more than 60%). We believe that in case of moderate steatosis in liver donor the graft may be considered when it is not associated to another known risk factors as poor medical status of recipient and retransplantation.