Accuracy of routine multidetector computed tomography to identify arterial variants in patients scheduled for pancreaticoduodenectomy

AIM:To assess the efficacy of cross-sectional multidetector computed tomography(MDCT) imaging without arterialreconstruction to identify aberrant right hepatic artery(RHA) and celiac artery stenosis(CAS) in patients scheduled for pancreaticoduodenectomy.METHODS:Patients with peri-ampullary and pancreatic head tumors who underwent routine preoperative MDCT and subsequent computed tomography(CT) angiography(CTA),conventional angiography or pancreaticoduodenectomy between September 2007 and August 2013 were identified.Retrospective analysis of imaging data was undertaken using CTA,conventional angiographic and surgical findings as the reference standards.The accuracy,sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value(PPV) and negative predictive value(NPV) of MDCT in evaluation of aberrant RHA and CAS were calculated.RESULTS:A group of 458 patients met the inclusion criteria of this study to detect aberrant RHA,and 181 cases were included to identify CAS.Fifty-four(11.8%) patients were confirmed to have aberrant RHA,while 12(6.6%) patients with CAS were demonstrated.MDCT yielded an accuracy of 98.5%,sensitivity of 96.3% and specificity of 98.8% in the detection of aberrant RHA.The sensitivity,specificity,PPV and NPV of MDCT for detecting CAS were 58.3%,98.2%,70% and 97.1%,respectively.CONCLUSION:Routine MDCT is recommended such that surgeons and radiologists be alerted to the importance of arterial variants on preoperative CT scans in patients scheduled for pancreaticoduodenectomy.     

Superior mesenteric artery first approach versus standard pancreaticoduodenectomy:a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The superior mesenteric artery (SMA) first approach was proposed recently as a new modification of the standard pancreaticoduodenectomy. Increasing evidence showed that a periadventiceal dissection of the SMA with early transection of the inflow during pancreaticoduodenec-tomy associates better early perioperative results, and setup the scene for long-term oncological benefits. The objectives of the current study are to compare the operative results and long-term oncological outcomes of SMA first approach pan-creaticoduodenectomy (SMA-PD) with standard pancreatico-duodenectomy (S-PD).DATA SOURCES: Electronic search of the PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane Library was performed until July 2015. We considered randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized comparative studies (NRCSs) comparing SMA-PD with S-PD to be eligible if they included patients with periampullary cancers.RESULTS: A total of one RCT and thirteen NRCSs met the in-clusion criteria, involving 640 patients with SMA-PD and 514 patients with S-PD. The SMA-PD was associated with less in-traoperative bleeding, less blood transfusions and higher rate of associated venous resections. The pancreatic fistula and delayed gastric emptying had a significantly lower rate in the SMA-PD group. There were no differences between the two approaches regarding overall complications, major complica-tion rates and in-hospital mortality. There was no difference regarding R0 resection rate, and one-, two- or three-year over-all survival. The SMA-PD was associated with a lower local, hepatic and extrahepatic metastatic rate.CONCLUSIONS: The SMA-PD is associated with better perioperative outcomes, such as blood loss, transfusion re-quirements, pancreatic fistula, and delayed gastric emptying. Although the one-, two- or three-year overall survival rate is not superior, the SMA-PD has a lower local and metastatic re-currence rate.     

Aberrant right hepatic arterial anatomy and pancreaticoduodenectomy: recognition,prevalence and management

Background:

Aberrant arterial anatomy is a common finding during foregut surgery. Anomalies to the right hepatic lobe are especially relevant during pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) and their recognition serves to protect the blood supply to the liver and bile ducts. We report our experience with aberrant right hepatic arterial anatomy (ARHAA) found during PD.

Methods:

All patients who underwent PD between February 2003 and June 2007 were retrospectively reviewed and those with ARHAA were identified. Preoperative imaging studies were assessed by one radiologist, graded according to the presence of ARHAA and compared with the original interpretations.

Results:

We found ARHAA in 31 of 191 patients (16.2%). Operative management included dissection and preservation in 24, transection and reconstruction in four, and transection and primary anastomosis in three patients. Reconstruction of ARHAA was carried out through interposition grafts in two patients and implantation into the gastroduodenal stump in two patients. No cases of arterial thrombosis, liver infarction, abscess formation or biliary fistula were demonstrated in the immediate postoperative period. Review of preoperative imaging interpretations found that only nine of 23 reports indicated the presence of ARHAA; however, the retrospective review of the images found that ARHAA was readily apparent in 24 patients.

Discussion:

Recognition of aberrant vasculature to the liver before PD is important. Preoperative imaging studies will often be adequate to identify these anomalies, but interpreting radiologists may not be aware of its clinical significance. Surgeons performing PD must be adept at managing ARHAA safely.     

Leaking hepatic artery aneurysm successfully treated with covered stent

Hepatic artery aneurysm (HAA) is rare with reported incidence of 0.02%. It accounts for ～12–20% of all visceral aneurysms. The reported risk of rupture ranges from 14% to 80% of all HAAs. Traditionally, HAA has been treated surgically or by transcatheter coil embolization. There are few published reports of percutaneous HAA stenting. We report a case of a 72‐year‐old female with leaking HAA who was successfully treated with endovascular stenting. The authors include a review of the relevant literature. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Post-traumatic pseudoaneurysm of the common hepatic artery with duodenal fistula

BackgroundPost-traumatic pseudoaneurysm of the hepatic artery is rare, especially after blunt abdominal trauma; an even more rare occurrence is enteric fistulisation.Case outlineA 29-year-old man was admitted with an acute episode of upper gastrointestinal bleeding three months after blunt abdominal trauma and was found to have an hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm with duodenal fistula. Surgical treatment was by ligature of the artery and duodenal closure with omental patch.DiscussionThere is one previous case report of hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm as a delayed complication of blunt abdominal trauma. The presence of a haematoma in the hepatoduodenal ligament after blunt trauma should raise the suspicion of hepatic artery injury, and surgical exploration may prevent the subsequent development of pseudoaneurysm. CT scan has become an important instrument both in diagnosis and in surgical planning.     

The right hepatic artery syndrome

Various benign and malignant conditions could cause biliary obstruction. Compression of extrahepatic bile duct (EBD) by right hepatic artery was reported as a right hepatic artery syndrome but all cases were compressed EBD from stomach side. Our case compressed from dorsum was not yet reported, so it was thought to be a very rare case. We present here the first case of bile duct obstruction due to the compression of EBD from dorsum by right hepatic artery.     

经皮穿刺胆道引流术治疗肝动脉损伤大出血1例

患者,男,78岁,因患胆管癌在DSA下引导行经皮穿刺胆道引流术（PTCD）进行减黄。采用右侧腋中线9～10肋间穿刺肝内胆管,术中造影可见胆道内血块充盈缺损（图1a）,胆总管下段梗阻,放置8mm×60mm胆道支架,留置8．5F外引流管,减黄后,患者恢复良好。术后30d,准备在透视下拔除引流管,在进行引流管退出胆道的操作时,     

Case-control study of calcification of the hepatic artery in chronic hemodialysis patients: comparison with the abdominal aorta and splenic artery

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Studies of the hepatic artery are scarce. We have observed that hepatic artery calcification is very uncommon in patients with hyperparathyroidism that expedites calcification. METHODS: Plain abdominal CT was studied in 221 patients on chronic hemodialysis. Control consisted of 442 sex- and age-matched patients with other diseases. Calcification was graded as a percentage of the entire wall circumference for the aorta, and as a percentage of the entire length of the hepatic and splenic arteries from the celiac trunk to the hilum of each organ. RESULTS: Aortic calcification was seen in 79.2% of male dialysis patients, 22.1% of controls, 74.1% of female dialysis patients and 17.3% of controls (P < 0.0001). Hepatic artery calcification was seen in only 13 dialysis patients. The degree of calcification of the abdominal aorta was correlated with the length of hemodialysis period (P = 0.008), but not with serum calcium, serum phosphate or their product. Although serum parathormone levels were not correlated with calcification, seven of eight dialysis patients with hepatic artery calcification had very high parathormone levels. CONCLUSIONS: The hepatic artery is far less frequently calcified than are the abdominal aorta and splenic artery. This may be a teleologic phenomenon of the liver.     

Autogenous vein graft from iliac artery to splenic artery for celiac occlusion in pancreaticoduodenectomy

This is a report of two patients with bile duct cancer and periampullary cancer with celiac axis occlusion who underwent pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy and pancreaticoduodenectomy, respectively. Preoperative arteriography demonstrated complete obstruction of the celiac axis. The arterial blood flow to the liver, spleen, and stomach was sustained through the pancreaticoduodenal arcades and collaterals from the superior mesenteric artery. Therefore, reconstruction of the celiac axis circulation was required before division of the gastroduodenal artery. An autograft of the saphenous vein was placed between the iliac artery and the splenic artery, and subsequently pancreaticoduodenectomy was performed. The patients' postoperative courses were uneventful. Postoperative arteriography demonstrated patency of the grafts. When occlusion of the celiac axis exists, a bypass from the iliac artery to the splenic artery using a saphenous vein graft, may be safely and easily performed at the time of pancreaticoduodenal resection.     

Effective hepatic artery chemoembolization for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with extensive tumour thrombus through the hepatic vein

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with extensive tumour growth through the hepatic vein still has an extremely poor prognosis, even after cancer chemotherapy and/or transarterial embolization. Although aggressive surgical treatments using extracorporeal circulation and liver transplantation have been performed by some authors, the reported results were still unsatisfactory. In this study, we report the favourable result of hepatic artery chemoembolization and subsequent surgical resection in three patients with advanced HCC with extensive tumour thrombus through the hepatic vein. METHODS AND RESULTS: Three irresectable patients with HCC with extensive tumour thrombus through the hepatic vein underwent hepatic artery chemoembolization with aclarubicin, mitomycin C, lipiodol and/or Gelfoam. After the reduction of tumour extent with hepatic artery chemoembolization, two of the three patients underwent surgical resection. These two patients are still alive at 59 and 21 postoperative months, respectively. In the other case, the extent of the tumour and functional reserve of the liver prevented us from performing surgical resection, but the patient is doing well 62 months after the initial treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Hepatic artery chemoembolization with aclarubicin, mitomycin C, lipiodol and/or Gelfoam might be an effective treatment for irresectable advanced HCC with extensive tumour thrombus into the inferior vena cava or the right atrium through the hepatic vein. Radical surgical resection might be applicable for selected patients without high surgical risk after reducing tumour extent by hepatic artery chemoembolization.     

肝动脉超选灌注自体骨髓干细胞治疗失代偿期乙型肝炎肝硬化的临床研究

目的 分析肝动脉超选灌注自体骨髓干细胞对失代偿期乙型肝炎(乙肝)肝硬化患者的疗效及安全性.方法 选择失代偿期乙肝肝硬化患者20例,从髂后上棘抽取骨髓,体外分离纯化骨髓源性干细胞,通过肝动脉超选注入肝脏,在移植后2、4、8、12周复查肝功能,观察实验室指标变化及不良反应情况.同时选取常规治疗的失代偿期乙肝肝硬化患者20例...     

Outcomes of pancreaticoduodenectomy in elderly patients

BACKGROUND: Although the mortality and morbidity of pancreaticoduodenectomy(PD) have improved significantly over the past years, the concerns for elderly patients undergoing PD are still present. Furthermore, the frequency of PD is increasing because of the increasing proportion of elderly patients and the increasing incidence of periampullary tumors. This study aimed to analyze the outcomes of PD in elderly patients.METHODS: We studied all patients who had undergone PD in our center between January 1995 and February 2015. The patients were divided into three groups based on age: group I(patients aged 60 years), group II(those aged 60 to 69 years) and group III(those aged ≥70 years). The primary outcome was the rate of total postoperative complications. Secondary endpoint included total operative time, hospital mortality, length of postoperative hospital stay, delayed gastric emptying, re-exploration, and survival rate.RESULTS: A total of 828 patients who had undergone PD for resection of periampullary tumor were included in this study. There were 579(69.9%) patients in group I, 201(24.3%) in group II, and 48(5.8%) in group III. The overall incidence of complications was higher in elderly patients(25.9% in group I, 36.8% in group II, and 37.5% in group III; P=0.006). There were more patients complicated with delayed gastric emptying in group II compared with the other two groups. There was no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative pancreatic fistula, biliary leakage, pancreatitis, pulmonary complications and hospital mortality.CONCLUSIONS: PD can be performed safely in selected elderly patients. Advanced age alone should not be a contraindication for PD. The outcome of elderly patients who have undergone PD is similar to that of younger patients, and the increased rate of complications is due to the presence of associated comorbidities.     

Role of hepatic artery in haemodynamics in normal and cirrhotic livers in rats

To examine the degree of influence of the hepatic artery on microcirculation in the liver, microscopic observation of blood flow in the hepatic minute blood vessels and the sinusoids and pressure measurements at key points in hepatic vascular pathways in vivo were performed before and after hepatic artery ligation in normal and cirrhotic rats. In normal rats, portal vein pressure (109 mmH2O) fell 10 mmH2O after hepatic artery ligation, but the pressures of the terminal portal venule, the terminal hepatic venule and the inferior vena cava did not change. In cirrhotic rats, portal vein pressure (206 mmH2O) and terminal portal venule pressure (106 mmH2O) fell 23 and 10 mmH2O after hepatic artery ligation respectively: the pressures in the terminal hepatic venule and the inferior vena cava did not change. These results suggests that the pressure transmitted from the hepatic artery was mostly supplied to the intrahepatic portal vein in normal rats and both to the intrahepatic portal vein and to the sinusoids in cirrhotic rats. In both normal and cirrhotic rats, however, the pressure transmitted from the hepatic artery was about 10 per cent of the initial portal vein pressure, and the blood flow in minute vessels and sinusoids did not change after hepatic artery ligation. Accordingly, it is believed that the hepatic artery plays only a small role in the haemodynamics of the liver in both normal and cirrhotic rats, irrespective of the distribution and manner of the hepatic arterial termination.     

肝动脉和门静脉栓塞化疗联合射频消融治疗原发性肝癌

目的探讨肝动脉栓塞化疗、门静脉栓塞化疗及射频消融治疗不能手术切除的原发性肝癌的临床价值。方法对不能手术切除的56例肝癌患者行肝动脉栓塞化疗联合经皮门静脉栓塞化疗及射频消融综合治疗,并于同期单纯行TACE治疗的病人60例作对照。结果两组病人的肝功能变化差异无显著性意义（均P〉0.05）;两组病人治疗后ATP转阴率差异有显著性意义（P〈0.05）;CR和PR有显著性差异（P〈0.01）;1年及2年生存率差异有显著性意义（P〈0.05）。结论对不能手术切除的肝癌患者行肝动脉栓塞化疗联合经皮门静脉栓塞化疗及射频消融综合治疗能显著提高AFP转阴率、总有效率及生存率,在临床上有较好的应用价值。     

Overview of coronary artery variants,aberrations and anomalies

Coronary artery anomalies and variants are relatively uncommon congenital disorders of the coronary artery anatomy and constitute the second most common cause of sudden cardiac death in young competitive athletes. The rapid advancement of imaging techniques, including computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, intravascular ultrasound and optical coherence tomography, have provided us with a wealth of new information on the subject. Anomalous origin of a coronary artery from the contralateral sinus is the anomaly most frequently associated with sudden cardiac death, in particular if the anomalous coronary artery has a course between the aorta and the pulmonary artery. However, other coronary anomalies, like anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery, atresia of the left main stem and coronary fistulae, have also been implicated in cases of sudden cardiac death. Patients are usually asymptomatic, and in most of the cases, coronary anomalies are discovered incidentally during coronary angiography or on autopsy following sudden cardiac death. However, in some cases, symptoms like angina, syncope, heart failure and myocardial infarction may occur. The aims of this article are to present a brief overview of the diverse coronary variants and anomalies, focusing especially on anatomical features, clinical manifestations, risk of sudden cardiac death and pathophysiologic mechanism of symptoms, as well as to provide valuable information regarding diagnostic workup, follow-up, therapeutic choices and timing of surgical treatment.     

经肝动脉免疫化疗栓塞术治疗晚期肝癌

目的 探讨经肝动脉免疫化疗栓塞对晚期肝癌的疗效及对机体免疫功能的影响。 方法 晚期肝癌12例,经肝动脉灌注细胞因子-化疗药物-碘油乳剂,即由rIL-2 40-60万U,rIFN 160万U,TNF100万U,ADM 20 mg,MMC 10 mg和碘油8-15 ml混合乳化制成的乳剂。共两次,间隔2周。第2次灌注术后用明胶海绵行肝动脉栓塞。 结果 治疗后1个月,7例瘤体缩小,2例稳定,3例增大。10例AFP阳性者5例明显下降。术后外周血NK活性显著增强。 结论 经肝动脉免疫化疗栓塞术对晚期肝癌疗效较满意,副作用小,并能明显改善机体免疫功能,值得进一步探讨。     

Stent-grafts placement for treatment of massive hemorrhage from ruptured hepatic artery after pancreaticoduodenectomy

AIM:To present a series of cases with life-threatening hemorrhage from ruptured hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm after pancreaticoduodenectomy(PD) treated with placement of stent-grafts.METHODS:Massive hemorrhage from ruptured hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm after PD in 9 patients(6 men,3 women) at the age of 23-75 years(mean 48 years),were treated with placement of percutaneous endovascular balloon-expandable coronary stent-grafts.All patients were not suitable for embolization because of a non-patent portal ve...     

Comparison of anatomic and non‐anatomic hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma

Background

The aim of the present study was to compare the prognostic impact of anatomic resection (AR) versus non‐anatomic resection (NAR) on patient survival after resection of a single hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods

To control for confounding variable distributions, a 1‐to‐1 propensity score match was applied to compare the outcomes of AR and NAR. Among 710 patients with a primary, solitary HCC of <5.0 cm in diameter that was resectable by either AR or NAR from 2003 to 2007 in Japan and Korea, 355 patients underwent NAR and 355 underwent AR of at least one section with complete removal of the portal territory containing the tumor.

Results

Overall survival (OS) was better in the AR than NAR group (hazard ratio 1.67, 95% confidence interval 1.28–2.19, P < 0.001) while disease‐free survival showed no significant difference. Significantly fewer patients in the AR than NAR group developed intrahepatic HCC recurrence and multiple intrahepatic recurrences. Patients with poorly differentiated HCC who underwent AR had improved disease‐free survival and OS.

Conclusions

Anatomic resection decreases the risk of tumor recurrence and improves OS in patients with a primary, solitary HCC of <5.0 cm in diameter.     

Right coronary artery hepatic vein fistula: a case report

There is a slight predominance for coronary artery fistulas that involve the right coronary artery, while multiple fistulas have also been reported. The usual site of termination is one or more of the low-pressure structures in the heart or the great vessels such as the right or left atria, right ventricle, coronary sinus, pulmonary artery, or superior vena cava. However, a coronary fistula that drains into a hepatic vein has not been reported in the literature. Therefore, this is the first case report indicating a right coronary artery fistula that drains into the middle hepatic vein.