Laparoscopic hepatectomy: new approach for hepatocellular carcinoma

Long-term results of laparoscopic liver resection for the primary treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma: role of the surgeon in anatomical resection

BACKGROUND

Liver resection is a potentially curative therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). LLR is a newly developed and safe technique associated with shorter hospital stay, less pain, better cosmetic outcomes, and similar complication rates as open surgery; however, data on its long-term outcomes remain scarce.

METHODS

We retrospectively examined the clinical and follow-up data of 234 patients who underwent LLR (performed by a single surgeon in all cases) for the primary treatment of HCC between July 2007 and December 2015 at Asan Medical Center.

RESULTS

The mean patient age was 55.63 (range 31-76) years; 167 were men. The median follow-up duration was 38 (range 6-116) months. A total of 227 patients (97.0%) had Child-Turcotte-Pugh grade A disease. Of them, 167 (71.4%) underwent anatomical resections and 63 (28.6%) underwent non-anatomical partial hepatectomies. Overall survival rates were 98.3, 91.7, and 87.1%, and recurrence-free survival rates were 82.1, 67.5, and 55.3% at 1, 3, and 5 years, respectively. In Cox regression analysis, anatomical resection was a risk factor for recurrence (univariate analysis: hazard ratio [HR] 0.49; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.31-0.75; p = 0.001; multivariate analysis: HR 0.59; 95% CI 0.38-0.94; p = 0.025).

CONCLUSIONS

LLR is an acceptable primary treatment for patients with HCC with good hepatic function and with an appropriate anatomical structure, and is associated with improved prognosis. LLR can achieve lower recurrence rates through anatomical resection.

Partial embolization as re-treatment of hypersplenism after unsuccessful splenic artery ligation

Ligation of splenic artery (LSA) is used for the treatment of liver cirrhosis with hypersplenism. However, hypersplenism is not significantly improved following LSA treatment in some cases, and there are few reports of retreatment of hypersplenism after LSA. We report the case of a 47-year-old man with liver cirrhosis and hypersplenism who underwent LSA treatment, but did not significantly improve. Laboratory tests revealed severe leukocytopenia and thrombocytopenia. Celiac computed tomography arteriogram and digital subtraction angiography revealed two compensatory arteries connected to the hilar splenic artery from the left gastro-epiploic artery and from the dorsal pancreatic artery. Partial splenic embolization (PSE) was performed through the compensatory arteries. As a result, the patient achieved partial splenic ischemic infarction, and white blood cell and platelet counts rose and remained in the normal range. PSE is an effective therapeutic modality for the retreatment of hypersplenism when other modalities have failed.