Les dispositifs de suppléance hépatique

Today, hepatic transplantation does not allow to take in charge all patients suffering from acute or fulminant liver failure or from a rapid evolution of chronic liver failure. In critical care units, systems for liver supply are necessary to ensure main liver functions and to bridge patient to transplantation or potential regeneration. After a brief review on the functions needed to be supplied and the clinical problems, the available systems are described, with a focus on the physical and chemical principles involved and the clinical results obtained. Finally, the “bio-artificial” approach is presented showing the potential use of biological components (tissue engineering) to supply patients in the future.