Variation in complications and mortality following ALPPS at early-adopting centers

Histological and radiological analysis of simultaneous dual hepatic vein embolization for right-sided major hepatectomy

PURPOSE

Simultaneous dual hepatic vein embolization (DHVE) has been proposed for safe right-sided hepatectomy, with good results for liver hypertrophy and function. However, the histological and radiological findings of DHVE have not been thoroughly investigated.

METHODS

This study included 14 patients who underwent DHVE before right-sided major hepatectomy. DHVE was performed if the future liver remnant was < 35% or borderline, but with concomitant vascular resection. The liver function was assessed using the signal intensity on Gd-EOB-DTPA-MRI. A histological evaluation of the area of DHVE and portal vein embolization (PVE) were performed.

RESULTS

The median pre- and post-functional liver remnants were 363 ml and 498 ml, respectively (p < 0.001). The median growth rate was 48.6%, and there was no post-hepatectomy liver failure in the patients who underwent DHVE. The signal intensity ratio in the area of DHVE was lower than that in the areas of PVE and the remnant liver (p < 0.01). The degree of congestion and necrosis was greater in the area of DHVE than in the area of PVE alone (p < 0.01 and p = 0.04, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

We observed good liver hypertrophy after DHVE and histological and radiological changes in the area of DHVE. Our findings provide a compelling rationale for further investigation of the mechanism of liver hypertrophy in DHVE.

Extent of resection and underlying liver disease influence the accuracy of the preoperative risk assessment with the American College of Surgeons Risk Calculator

BACKGROUND

Liver surgery is associated with a significant risk of postoperative complications, depending on the extent of liver resection and the underlying liver disease. Therefore, adequate patient selection is crucial. This study aimed to assess the accuracy of the American College of Surgeons Risk Calculator (ACS-RC) by considering liver parenchyma quality and the type of liver resection.

METHODS

Patients who underwent open or minimally invasive liver resection for benign or malignant indications between January 2019 and March 2023 at the University Hospital Basel were included. Brier score and feature importance analysis were performed to investigate the accuracy of the ACS-RC.

RESULTS

A total of 376 patients were included in the study, 214 (57%) who underwent partial hepatectomy, 89 (24%) who underwent hemihepatectomy, and 73 (19%) who underwent trisegmentectomy. Most patients had underlying liver diseases, with 143 (38%) patients having fibrosis, 75 patients (20%) having steatosis, and 61 patients (16%) having cirrhosis. The ACS-RC adequately predicted surgical site infection (Brier score of 0.035), urinary tract infection (Brier score of 0.038), and death (Brier score of 0.046), and moderate accuracy was achieved for serious complications (Brier score of 0.216) and overall complications (Brier score of 0.180). Compared with the overall cohort, the prediction was limited in patients with cirrhosis, fibrosis, and steatosis and in those who underwent hemihepatectomy and trisegmentectomy. The inclusion of liver parenchyma quality improved the prediction accuracy.

CONCLUSION

The ACS-RC is a reliable tool for estimating 30-day postoperative morbidity, particularly for patients with healthy liver parenchyma undergoing partial liver resection. However, accurate perioperative risk prediction should be adjusted for underlying liver disease and extended liver resections.

Cornerstones and divergencies in the implementation and use of liver hypertrophy techniques: results from a nationwide survey for the set-up of the prospective registry

BACKGROUND

The aim of this national survey on liver hypertrophy techniques was to track the trends of their use and implementation in Italy and to detect analogies and heterogeneities among centers.

METHODS

In December 2022, Italian centers with liver resection activity were specifically contacted and asked to fill an online questionnaire composed of 6 sections including a total of 51 questions.

RESULTS

46 Italian centers filled the questionnaire. The proportion of major/total number of liver resections was 27% and the use of hypertrophy techniques was required in 6,2% of cases. The most frequent reason of drop out was disease progression in 58.5% of cases. Most frequently used techniques were PVE and ALPPS with an increasing use of hepatic venous deprivation (HVD). Heterogeneous answers were provided regarding the cutoff values to indicate the need for hypertrophy techniques. Criteria to allocate a patient to different hypertrophy techniques are not standardized.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of hypertrophy techniques is deep-rooted in Italy, documenting the established value of their role in improving resectability rate. While an evolution of techniques is detectable, still significant heterogeneity is perceived in terms of cutoff values, indications and managing protocols.

Role of liver augmentation prior to hepatic resection - a survey on standards, procedures, and indications in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria

PURPOSE

For primary and secondary liver tumors oncological resection remains a chance of cure. Augmentation of functional liver tissue may be necessary to preserve sufficient future liver remnant (FLR). Clinical decision-making on liver augmentation techniques and indications may differ internationally. Thus, this study aims to identify standards of liver augmentation in hepato-pancreatico-biliary (HPB) centers in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.

METHODS

Using a web-based survey, 48 hospitals in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria were invited to report their surgical indication, standard procedures, and results of liver augmentation.

RESULTS

Forty (83.3%) of the hospitals invited participated. Most of the hospitals were certified liver centers (55%), performing complex surgeries such as liver transplantation (57.5%) and ALPPS (80%). The standard liver augmentation technique in all countries was portal vein embolization (PVE; 56%), followed by ALPPS (32.1%) in Germany or PVE with hepatic vein embolization (33.3%) in Switzerland and Austria. Standard procedure for liver augmentation did not correlate with certification as liver center, performance of liver transplantation or ALPPS. Surgical indication for PVE varied depending on tumor entity. Most hospitals rated the importance of PVE before resection of cholangiocarcinoma or colorectal metastases as high, while PVE for hepatocellular carcinoma was rated as low.

CONCLUSION

The survey gives an overview of the clinical routine in HPB centers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. PVE seems to dominate as standard technique to increase the FLR. However, there is a variety in the main indication for liver augmentation. Further studies are necessary evaluating the differing PVE techniques for liver augmentation.

Challenges and Opportunities for Precision Surgery for Colorectal Liver Metastases

The incidence of colorectal cancer and colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) is increasing globally due to an interaction of environmental and genetic factors. A minority of patients with CRLM have surgically resectable disease, but for those who have resection as part of multimodal therapy for their disease, long-term survival has been shown. Precision surgery-the idea of careful patient selection and targeting of surgical intervention, such that treatments shown to be proven to benefit on a population level are the optimal treatment for each individual patient-is the new paradigm of care. Key to this is the understanding of tumour molecular biology and clinically relevant mutations, such as KRAS, BRAF, and microsatellite instability (MSI), which can predict poorer overall outcomes and a poorer response to systemic therapy. The emergence of immunotherapy and hepatic artery infusion (HAI) pumps show potential to convert previously unresectable disease to resectable disease, in addition to established systemic and locoregional therapies, but the surgeon must be wary of poor-quality livers and the spectre of post-hepatectomy liver failure (PHLF). Volume modulation, a cornerstone of hepatic surgery for a generation, has been given a shot in the arm with the advent of liver venous depletion (LVD) ensuring significantly more hypertrophy of the future liver remnant (FLR). The optimal timing of liver resection for those patients with synchronous disease is yet to be truly established, but evidence would suggest that those patients requiring complex colorectal surgery and major liver resection are best served with a staged approach. In the operating room, parenchyma-preserving minimally invasive surgery (MIS) can dramatically reduce the surgical insult to the patient and lead to better perioperative outcomes, with quicker return to function.

Full robotic versus open ALPPS: a bi-institutional comparison of perioperative outcomes

BACKGROUND

In primarily unresectable liver tumors, ALPPS (Associating Liver Partition and Portal Vein Ligation for Staged hepatectomy) may offer curative two-stage hepatectomy trough a fast and extensive hypertrophy. However, concerns have been raised about the invasiveness of the procedure. Full robotic ALPPS has the potential to reduce the postoperative morbidity trough a less invasive access. The aim of this study was to compare the perioperative outcomes of open and full robotic ALPPS.

METHODS

The bicentric study included open ALPPS cases from the University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland and robotic ALPPS cases from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy from 01/2015 to 07/2022. Main outcomes were intraoperative parameters and overall complications.

RESULTS

Open and full robotic ALPPS were performed in 36 and 7 cases. Robotic ALPPS was associated with less blood loss after both stages (418 ± 237 ml vs. 319 ± 197 ml; P = 0.04 and 631 ± 354 ml vs. 258 ± 53 ml; P = 0.01) as well as a higher rate of interstage discharge (86% vs. 37%; P = 0.02). OT was longer with robotic ALPPS after both stages (371 ± 70 min vs. 449 ± 81 min; P = 0.01 and 282 ± 87 min vs. 373 ± 90 min; P = 0.02). After ALPPS stage 2, there was no difference for overall complications (86% vs. 86%; P = 1.00) and major complications (43% vs. 39%; P = 0.86). The total length of hospital stay was similar (23 ± 17 days vs. 26 ± 13; P = 0.56).

CONCLUSION

Robotic ALPPS was safely implemented and showed potential for improved perioperative outcomes compared to open ALPPS in an experienced robotic center. The robotic approach might bring the perioperative risk profile of ALPPS closer to interventional techniques of portal vein embolization/liver venous deprivation.

Benchmarks for Pediatric Surgical Registries: Recommendations for the Assessment and Grading of Complications

Procedure-related registries in general surgical practice offer a platform for prospective trials, the pooling of data, and detailed outcome analysis. Recommendations by the Idea, Development, Exploration, Assessment, and Long-term follow-up (IDEAL) collaboration and Outcome4Medicine have further improved the uniform reporting of complications and adverse events.In the pediatric surgical network, disease-specific registries for rare and inherited congenital anomalies are gaining importance, fostering international collaborations on studies of low-incidence diseases. However, to date, reporting of complications in the pediatric surgical registries has been inconsistent. Therefore, the European Reference Network for Rare Inherited and Congenital Anomalies (ERNICA) recently endorsed the validation of the first severity grading system for children. The planned reform of the European Paediatric Surgical Audit (EPSA) registry, which includes the implementation of the Clavien-Madadi classification, represents a further effort to establish uniform outcome reporting.This article provides an overview of experiences with surgical registries and complication reporting, along with the potential application of this knowledge to future pediatric surgical practice.

Optimizing Growth of the Future Liver Remnant and Making In-Situ Liver Transsection Safe—A Standardized Approach to ISLT or ALPPS

In-situ splitting of the liver before extended resection has gained broad attention. This two-step procedure requires several measures to make an effective and safe procedure. Although the procedure is performed in many institutions, there is no consensus on a uniform technique. The two steps can be divided into different parts and a standardized technique may render the procedure safer and the results will be easier to evaluate. In this paper, we describe a detailed approach to in-situ splitting that allows making both procedures safe, avoids liver necrosis, and is easily reproducible. In the first procedure the portal branches to segments I and IV to VIII are divided, the arterial branches and bile ducts to these segments are preserved and encircled and the parenchyma between segments II/III and IVa/b is divided. This avoids necrosis and bile leaks of segments I and IV and avoids urgent completion operations. In particular, the handling of vital structures close to the dissection line seems important to us. Complete splitting and securing the right and middle hepatic vein will make the second step of this procedure a minimal-risk procedure at a stage where the patient is still recovering from the more demanding first step.

Parenchyma-Sparing Liver Resection or Regenerative Liver Surgery: Which Way to Go?

Liver resection for malignant tumors should respect oncological margins while ensuring safety and improving the quality of life, therefore tumor staging, underlying liver disease and performance status should all be attentively assessed in the decision process. The concept of parenchyma-sparing liver surgery is nowadays used as an alternative to major hepatectomies to address deeply located lesions with intricate topography by means of complex multiplanar parenchyma-sparing liver resections, preferably under the guidance of intraoperative ultrasound. Regenerative liver surgery evolved as a liver growth induction method to increase resectability by stimulating the hypertrophy of the parenchyma intended to remain after resection (referred to as future liver remnant), achievable by portal vein embolization and liver venous deprivation as interventional approaches, and portal vein ligation and associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy as surgical techniques. Interestingly, although both strategies have the same conceptual origin, they eventually became caught in the never-ending parenchyma-sparing liver surgery vs. regenerative liver surgery debate. However, these strategies are both valid and must both be mastered and used to increase resectability. In our opinion, we consider parenchyma-sparing liver surgery along with techniques of complex liver resection and intraoperative ultrasound guidance the preferred strategy to treat liver tumors. In addition, liver volume-manipulating regenerative surgery should be employed when resectability needs to be extended beyond the possibilities of parenchyma-sparing liver surgery.

Ipsilateral access portal venous embolization (PVE) for preoperative hypertrophy exhibits low complication rates in Clavien-Dindo and CIRSE scales

Background

Portal venous embolization (PVE) is a minimal invasive preoperative strategy that aims to increase future liver remnant (FLR) in order to facilitate extended hemihepatectomy. We analyzed our data retrospectively regarding complications and degree of hypertrophy (DH).

Methods: 88 patients received PVE either by particles / coils (n = 77) or by glue / oil (n = 11), supported by 7 right hepatic vein embolizations (HVE) by coils or occluders. All complications were categorized by the Clavien- Dindo (CD) and the CIRSE classification.

Results

In 88 patients (median age 68 years) there was one intervention with a biliary leak and subsequent drainage (complication grade 3 CD, CIRSE 3), two with prolonged hospital stay (grade 2 CD, grade 3 CIRSE) and 13 complications grade 1 CD, but no complications of grade 4 or higher neither in Clavien- Dindo nor in CIRSE classification. The median relative increase in FLR was 47% (SD 35%). The mean pre-intervention standardized FLR rose from 23% (SD 10%) to a post-intervention standardized FLR of 32% (SD 12%). The degree of hypertrophy (DH) was 9,3% (SD 5,2%) and the kinetic growth rate (KGR) per week was 2,06 (SD 1,84).

Conclusion

PVE and, if necessary, additional sequential HVE were safe procedures with a low rate of complications and facilitated sufficient preoperative hypertrophy of the future liver remnant.

Induction of liver hypertrophy for extended liver surgery and partial liver transplantation: State of the art of parenchyma augmentation-assisted liver surgery

Background

Liver surgery and transplantation currently represent the only curative treatment options for primary and secondary hepatic malignancies. Despite the ability of the liver to regenerate after tissue loss, 25–30% future liver remnant is considered the minimum requirement to prevent serious risk for post-hepatectomy liver failure.

Purpose

The aim of this review is to depict the various interventions for liver parenchyma augmentation–assisting surgery enabling extended liver resections. The article summarizes one- and two-stage procedures with a focus on hypertrophy- and corresponding resection rates.

Conclusions

To induce liver parenchymal augmentation prior to hepatectomy, most techniques rely on portal vein occlusion, but more recently inclusion of parenchymal splitting, hepatic vein occlusion, and partial liver transplantation has extended the technical armamentarium. Safely accomplishing major and ultimately total hepatectomy by these techniques requires integration into a meaningful oncological concept. The advent of highly effective chemotherapeutic regimen in the neo-adjuvant, interstage, and adjuvant setting has underlined an aggressive surgical approach in the given setting to convert formerly “palliative” disease into a curative and sometimes in a “chronic” disease.

Conventional Two-Stage Hepatectomy or Associating Liver Partitioning and Portal Vein Ligation for Staged Hepatectomy for Colorectal Liver Metastases? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Pushing the surgical limits for initially unresectable colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) are two approaches for sequential liver resection: two-stage hepatectomy (TSH) and associating liver partitioning and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS). However, the role of each treatment modality remains ill-defined. The present meta-analysis was designed to compare the safety, efficacy, and oncological benefits between ALPPS and TSH in the management of advanced CRLM.

Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted from online databases through to February 2020. Single-arm synthesis and cumulative meta-analysis were performed.

Results: Eight studies were included, providing a total of 409 subjects for analysis (ALPPS: N = 161; TSH: N = 248). The completions of the second stage of the hepatectomy [98 vs. 78%, odds ratio (OR) 5.75, p < 0.001] and R0 resection (66 vs. 37%; OR 4.68; p < 0.001) were more frequent in patients receiving ALPPS than in those receiving TSH, and the waiting interval was dramatically shortened in ALPPS (11.6 vs. 45.7 days, weighted mean difference = −35.3 days, p < 0.001). Nevertheless, the rate of minor complications was significantly higher in ALPPS (59 vs. 18%, OR 6.5, p < 0.001) than in TSH. The two treatments were similar in 90-day mortality (7 vs. 5%, p = 0.43), major complications (29 vs. 22%, p = 0.08), posthepatectomy liver failure (PHLF; 9 vs. 9%, p = 0.3), biliary leakage (11 vs. 14%, p = 0.86), length of hospital stay (27.95 vs. 26.88 days, p = 0.8), 1-year overall survival (79 vs. 84%, p = 0.61), 1-year recurrence (49 vs. 39%, p = 0.32), and 1-year disease-free survival (34 vs. 39%, p = 0.66). Cumulative meta-analyses indicated chronological stability for the pooled effect sizes of resection rate, 90-day mortality, major complications, and PHLF.

Conclusions: Compared with TSH, ALPPS for advanced CRLM resulted in superior surgical efficacy with comparable perioperative mortality rate and short-term oncological outcomes, while this was at the cost of increased perioperative minor complications.