Liver surgery: what is feasible?

BACKGROUND: Bilobar hepatic metastases, a small residual liver volume, de-novo and recurrent lesions, simultaneous pulmonary metastases and infiltration of vascular structures are often limiting factors in the surgical treatment of primary and secondary liver tumors. Nevertheless surgery is the "gold standard" with the chance of long-term survival, not possible to achieve with locally ablation and chemotherapy. METHODS: The combination with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiofrequency ablation, extended liver resection after selective portal vein embolization, two-stage hepatectomy, resection and reconstruction of vascular structures in deep hypothermia and simultaneous resection of pulmonary metastases, increase the resectability even in patients with poor prognosis achieving 5-year-survival rates between 26-46 % in colorectal liver metastases, 40 % in primary liver tumors and a median survival of 42 months after resection of liver and lung metastases. CONCLUSION: Interdisciplinary treatment and aggressive surgical resection seem to be justified, when performed safely as a curative option.     

Ischemia and hepatic reperfusion: Is it possible to reduce hepatic alterations?

Our aim was to evaluate liver damage after ischemia and reperfusion, and at the same time test the effectiveness of some drugs in preventing these alterations. For this study, we utilized 50 rats divided into four groups: three underwent hepatic ischemia through occlusion of the portal vein and hepatic artery for 30 min, and one underwent a sham operation. In all groups, hepatic enzymes and bilirubine were tested at 2 h, 3 h, 4 h, 24 h, and 30 h. The drugs utilized were: L-arginine, donor of nitric oxide, and L-canavanine, inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS). Our data showed that the drugs tested could make an improvement in hepatic function after ischemia/reperfusion, preventing its damage. These preliminary results could suggest a clinical application in order to prolong ischemic period during liver transplantation or liver resection in cirrhotic patients.     

Evidence-based orthopaedics: is it possible?

EBM is referred to as the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. This article describes the history and practice of evidence-based medicine.     

Repeated transvaginal notes: is it possible?

Purpose  

Transvaginal surgery has been performed by gynecologists for decades with abundant literature supporting its efficacy and safety. Recently, several groups reported on the NOTES transvaginal (TV) approach for extrapelvic disease. Nevertheless, repeated TV access for NOTES has never been reported to date. Two cases of “repeated” TV access for NOTES cholecystectomy after TV hybrid sleeve gastrectomy are described.     

Pump removal in infected patients with hepatic chemotherapy pumps: when is it necessary?

Hepatic chemotherapy pumps have been shown to be an effective and well-tolerated treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer confined to the liver. The importance of completing chemotherapy in long-term outcome makes it desirable to salvage hepatic pumps where possible. Concerns of persistent and systemic infection have resulted in premature removal of pumps in patients with infection. We report our experience in this clinical scenario. We placed 75 hepatic chemotherapy pumps from January 1998 to August 2005 for treatment of colorectal liver metastases. Information was collected on the patients' courses of treatment, complications, and demographics via chart review. The rate of infection was 22.7% (n = 17), including eight infections localized to the abdomen (entailing five wound infections, three hepatic abscesses, and two pump pocket infections). Of these, two pumps had to be removed because of pump pocket infection, and these patients received more cycles of chemotherapy compared with the four removed for noninfectious complications (12.3 vs 3.2, P = 0.0349). Time to infection was found to be significantly higher in these patients (12.5 months) than in the patients with infections overall (4.87 months, P = 0.029), and age was found to be lower (42.5 vs 57.6 years, P = 0.0068).     

Extended hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with cirrhosis: is it justified?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the perioperative outcomes and long-term survival of extended hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with cirrhosis. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Hepatic resection is a well-established treatment for HCC in cirrhotic patients with preserved liver function and limited disease. However, the role of extended hepatic resection (more than four segments) for HCC in cirrhotic patients has not been elucidated. METHODS: Between 1993 and 2000, 45 consecutive patients with histologically confirmed cirrhosis underwent right or left extended hepatectomy for HCC (group A). Perioperative outcomes and long-term survival of these patients were compared with 161 patients with HCC and cirrhosis who underwent hepatic resection of a lesser extent in the same period (group B). All clinicopathologic and follow-up data were collected prospectively. RESULTS: Group A patients had significantly higher intraoperative blood loss, longer operation time, and longer hospital stay than group B. However, the two groups were similar in overall morbidity and hospital mortality. There were no significant differences in the incidence of liver failure or other complications. The resection margin width was similar between the two groups. Despite significantly larger tumor size in group A compared with group B, long-term survival was comparable between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Extended hepatic resection for HCC can be performed in selected cirrhotic patients with acceptable morbidity, mortality, and long-term survival that are comparable to those of lesser hepatic resection. Extended hepatectomy for large HCC extending from one lobe to the other or central HCC critically related to the hepatic veins is justifiable in cirrhotic patients with preserved liver function and adequate liver remnant.