Ampullary carcinoma:Effect of preoperative biliary drainage on surgical outcome

AIM： To evaluate the influence of preoperative biliary drainage on morbidity and mortality after surgical resection for ampullary carcinoma.METHODS： We analyzed retrospectively data for 82 patients who underwent potentially curative surgery for ampullary carcinoma between September 1993 and July 2007 at the Singapore General Hospital, a tertiary referral hospital. Diagnosis of ampullary carcinoma was confirmed histologically. Thirty-five patients underwent preoperative biliary drainage （PBD group）, and 47 were not drained （non-PBD group）. The mode of biliary drainage was endoscopic retrograde cholanoiopancreatography （n = 33） or percutaneous biliary drainage （n = 2）. The following parameters were analyzed： wound infection, intra-abdominal abscess, intra-abdominal or gastrointestinal bleeding, septicemia, biliary or pancreatic leakage, pancreatitis, gastroparesis, and re-operation rate. Mortality was assessed at 30 d （hospital mortality） and also longterm. The statistical endpoint of this study was patient survival after surgery.RESULTS： The groups were well matched for demographic criteria, clinical presentation and operative characteristics, except for lower hemoglobin in the non- PBD group （10.9 ± 1.6 vs 11.8 ± 1.6 in the PBD group）.Of the parameters assessing postoperative morbidity, incidence of wound infection was significantly less in the PBD than the non-PBD group [1 （2.9%） vs 12 （25.5%）]. However, the rest of the parameters did not differ significantly between the groups, i.e. sepsis [10 （28.6%） vs 14 （29.8%）], intra-abdominal bleeding [1 （2.9%） vs 5 （10.6%）], intra-abdominal abscess [1 （2.9%） vs 8 （17%）], gastrointestinal bleeding [3 （8.6%） vs 5 （10.6%）], pancreatic leakage [2 （5.7%） vs 3 （6.4%）], biliary leakage [2 （5.7%） vs 3 （6.4%）], pancreatitis [2 （5.7%） vs 2 （4.3%）], gastroparesis [6 （17.1%） vs 10 （21.3%）], need for blood transfusion [10 （28.6%） vs 17 （36.2%）] and re-operation rate [1 （2.9%） vs 5 （10.6%）]. There was no early mortality in either group. Median survival was 44 mo （95% CI： 34.2-53.8） in the PBD group and 41 mo （95% CI： 27.7-54.3; P = 0.86） in the non-PBD group.CONCLUSION： Biliary drainage before surgery for ampullary cancer significantly reduced postoperative wound infection. Overall mortality was not influenced by preoperative drainage.

Risk factors of biliary intervention by imaging after livingdonor liver transplantation

AIM:To determine the risk factors of biliary intervention using magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography(MRCP) after living donor liver transplantation(LDLT).METHODS: We retrospectively enrolled 196 patients who underwent right lobe LDLT between 2006 and 2010 at a single liver transplantation center. Direct duct-to-duct biliary anastomosis was performed in all 196 patients. MRCP images routinely taken 1 mo after LDLT were analyzed to identify risk factors for biliary intervention during follow-up, such as retrograde cholangiopancreatography or percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage. Two experienced radiologists evaluated the MRCP findings, including the anastomosis site angle on three-dimensional images, the length of the filling defect on maximum intensity projection, bile duct dilatation, biliary stricture, and leakage.RESULTS: Eighty-nine patients underwent biliary intervention during follow-up. The anastomosis site angle [hazard ratio(HR) = 0.48; 95% confidence interval(CI), 0.30-0.75, P < 0.001], a filling defect in the anastomosis site(HR = 2.18, 95%CI: 1.41-3.38,P = 0.001), and biliary leakage(HR = 2.52, 95%CI: 1.02-6.20, P = 0.048) on MRCP were identified in the multivariate analysis as significant risk factors for biliary intervention during follow-up. Moreover, a narrower anastomosis site angle(i.e., below the median angle of 113.3°) was associated with earlier biliary intervention(38.5 ± 4.2 mo vs 62. 1 ± 4.1 mo, P < 0.001). Kaplan-Meier analysis comparing biliary intervention-free survival according to the anastomosis site angle revealed that lower survival was associated with a narrower anastomosis site angle(36.3% vs 62.0%, P < 0.001).CONCLUSION: The biliary anastomosis site angle in MRCP after LDLT may be associated with the need for biliary intervention.

Role of endoscopy in the conservative management of biliary complications after deceased donor liver transplantation

The clinical outcome of patients receiving liver trans-plantation could be significantly affected by biliary complications, including strictures, leaks, stones and bilomas; early diagnosis and treatment of these con-ditions lead to markedly reduction in morbidity and mortality. Therapeutic gold standard is represented by conservative approaches, both endoscopic and percutaneous, based on the type of biliary reconstruction, the local availability of the procedures and specific expertise. In patients with previous transplantation, the difficult biliary access and the possible presence of concomitant complications(mainly strictures) further restrict the efficacy of the endoscopic and percutaneous treatments; on the other hand, surgery should generally be avoided because of the even increased morbidity and mortality due to technical and clinical issues. Here we review the most common biliary complications occurring after liver transplantation and discuss available treatment options including future perspectives such as endoscopic ultrasound-guided biliary access in patients with Roux-en-Y choledocho-jejunostomy or extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy for difficult stones.