After subtotal (90%) or total hepatectomy in the dog, coagulation disturbances appear early and exclude survival beyond 40 hours. These disturbances are the result of a fall in the synthesis of coagulation factors, but may also reflect a consumption syndrome. The ensuing clinical finding is an intravascular coagulation which can give way to fibrinolysis. A substitutive therapy aiming to replace the missing factors and avoid or prevent an eventual consumption thus appears necessary. The hemostatic disturbances after subtotal or total hepatectomy in the dog can be totally corrected by a substitutive therapy based on fresh frozen plasma. The first hepatic segment (caudate lobe) cannot insure by itself the coagulation functions during the first 4 post-op days. The hemostatic assistance is an other step towards the treatment of hepatic insufficiency. It must become an integral part of existing artificial liver support.
