Utility of the hooking technique for cases of major hepatectomy

Laparoscopic application of the hooking technique for ultrasound-guided minimally invasive liver surgery

Laparoscopic liver surgery has a wide diffusion worldwide, but the reproducibility of a parenchyma-sparing approach with a minimally invasive technique is still to explore. Intraoperative ultrasound (IOUS) is a mandatory tool to guarantee safety (transection plane) and oncological adequacy (margin) of minor but complex resections for deep-located tumors. The hooking technique has been developed exactly with this aim: once a vessel is isolated and encircled, the surgeon applies gentle traction on the tape surrounding the vessel and, under IOUS vision, "recognizes" the vessel and the adequate level of section. At present, advanced IOUS-guided maneuvers have limited application to laparoscopic liver surgery. We report the first application of the hooking maneuver during laparoscopic hepatectomy in three consecutive patients. In all cases, it was successfully performed and allowed to section the proper vessel at the right level. No procedure-related complications occurred and no ischemic areas of the remnant liver were evident. All resections had a negative surgical margin. Even if technically demanding, the laparoscopic hooking technique is a further step toward the standardization of a minimally invasive approach to advanced parenchyma-sparing liver surgery.

Current role of intraoperative ultrasonography in hepatectomy

Hepatectomy had a high mortality rate in the previous decade because of inadequate techniques, intraoperative blood loss, liver function reserve misdiagnoses, and accompanying postoperative complications. However, the development of several modalities, including intraoperative ultrasonography (IOUS), has made hepatectomy safer. IOUS can provide real-time information regarding the tumor position and vascular anatomy of the portal and hepatic veins. Systematic subsegmentectomy, which leads to improved patient outcomes, can be performed by IOUS in open and laparoscopic hepatectomy. Although three-dimensional (3D) computed tomography and gadoxetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging have been widely used, IOUS and contrast-enhanced IOUS are important modalities for risk analyses and making decisions regarding resectability and operative procedures because of the vital anatomical information provided and high sensitivity for liver tumors, including "disappearing" liver metastases. Intraoperative color Doppler ultrasonography can be used to delineate the vascular anatomy and evaluate the blood flow volume and velocity in hepatectomy patients and recipients of deceased- and living-donor liver transplantation after vessel reconstruction and liver positioning. For liver surgeons, IOUS is an essential technique to perform highly curative hepatectomy safely, although recent advances have also been made in virtual modalities, such as real-time virtual sonography with 3D visualization.