Hepatic blood inflow occlusion with/without hemihepatic artery control versus Pringle maneuver in resection of hepatocellular carcinoma, a retrospective comparative analysis

Background: To evaluate hepatic blood inflow occlusion (with/without hemihepatic artery control) vs. the Pringle maneuver in hepatocellular carcinoma resection. Methods: 281 cases of resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with hepatic blood inflow occlusion (with/without hemihepatic artery control) and the Pringle maneuver from January 2006 to December 2008 in our hospital were analyzed and compared retrospectively; among them 107 were in group I (Pringle maneuver), 98 in group II (hepatic blood inflow occlusion), and 76 in group III (hepatic blood inflow occlusion without hemihepatic artery control). The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative liver function and complications were used as the endpoints for evaluation. Results: The operative duration and intraoperative blood loss of three groups showed no significant difference; alanine-aminotransferase, total bilirubin and incidence of postoperative complications were significantly lower in groups II and III postoperation than those in group I. Conclusion: Hepatic blood inflow occlusion with hemihepatic artery control is safe, convenient and feasible for resection of HCC, especially for cases involving underlying diseases such as cirrhosis.