Utility of plasma D-dimer for diagnosis of venous thromboembolism after hepatectomy

BACKGROUND Venous thromboembolism(VTE)is a potentially fatal complication of hepatectomy.The use of postoperative prophylactic anticoagulation in patients who have undergone hepatectomy is controversial because of the risk of postoperative bleeding.Therefore,we hypothesized that monitoring plasma D-dimer could be useful in the early diagnosis of VTE after hepatectomy.AIM To evaluate the utility of monitoring plasma D-dimer levels in the early diagnosis of VTE after hepatectomy.METHODS The medical records of patients who underwent hepatectomy at our institution between January 2017 and December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed.Patients were divided into two groups according to whether or not they developed VTE after hepatectomy,as diagnosed by contrast-enhanced computed tomography and/or ultrasonography of the lower extremities.Clinicopathological factors,including demographic data and perioperative D-dimer values,were compared between the two groups.Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to determine the D-dimer cutoff value.Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using logistic regression analysis to identify significant predictors.RESULTS In total,234 patients who underwent hepatectomy were,of whom(5.6%)were diagnosed with VTE following hepatectomy.A comparison between the two groups showed significant differences in operative time(529 vs 403 min,P=0.0274)and blood loss(530 vs 138 mL,P=0.0067).The D-dimer levels on postoperative days(POD)1,3,5,7 were significantly higher in the VTE group than in the non-VTE group.In the multivariate analysis,intraoperative blood loss of>275 mL[odds ratio(OR)=5.32,95%confidence interval(CI):1.05-27.0,P=0.044]and plasma D-dimer levels on POD 5≥21μg/mL(OR=10.1,95%CI:2.04-50.1,P=0.0046)were independent risk factors for VTE after hepatectomy.CONCLUSION Monitoring of plasma D-dimer levels after hepatectomy is useful for early diagnosis of VTE and may avoid routine prophylactic anticoagulation in the postoperative period.

Surgical spacer placement and proton radiotherapy for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma

Few potentially curative treatment options exist apart from hepatic resection for patients with huge hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Proton radiotherapy is a promising new modality which has an inherent antitumor effect against HCC. However, the application of proton radiotherapy for tumors adjacent to the gastrointestinal tract is restricted because the tolerance dose of the intestine is extremely low. A novel two-step treatment was developed with surgical spacer placement and subsequent proton radiotherapy to administer proton radiotherapy with curative intent. This report presents a case of a patient with a huge unresectable HCC treated by this method who achieved disease-free survival of more than 2 years. This new strategy may potentially be an innovative and standard therapy for unresectable HCC in the near future.

Two-stage treatment with hepatectomy and carbon-ion radiotherapy for multiple hepatic epithelioid hemangioendotheliomas

Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma(HEH)is a rare neoplasm of vascular origin with variable malignant potential.Because most patients with this condition have multiple bilobar lesions,liver transplantation is the standard treatment,and hepatectomy is much less frequently indicated.We describe a case of a 35-yearold woman with unresectable multiple bilobar HEH successfully treated by combination treatment with hepatectomy and carbon-ion radiotherapy.This case is very meaningful since it demonstrated the effectiveness of carbon-ion radiotherapy for HEH and the possibility of expanding the curative treatment options for multiple bilobar hepatic tumors.