Recent advances in the surgical treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) is the most common primary liver malignancy. The treatment of HCC is complex and complicated by the severity of associated chronic liver disease, the stage of HCC, and the clinical condition of the patient. Liver resection(LR) is one of the most efficient treatments for patients with HCC, with an expected 5-year survival of 38%-61% depending on the stage of the disease. Improved liver function assessment, increased understanding of segmental liver anatomy from advanced imaging studies, and surgical technical progress are important factors that have led to reduced mortality in patients with HCC. The indication for LR may be expanded due to emerging evidences from laparoscopic hepatectomies and combined treatments with newly developed chemotherapies. Liver transplantation(LT) is considered as an ideal treatment for removal of existing tumors and the injured/preneoplastic underlying liver tissue with impaired liver function and the risk of multicentric carcinogenesis that results from chronically injured liver. However, LT is restricted to patients with minimal risk of tumor recurrence under immunosuppression. The expansion of criteria for LT in HCC patients is still under trial and discussion. Limited availability of grafts, as well as the risk and the cost of transplantation have led to considerable interest in expansion of the donor pool, living donor-related transplantation, and combined treatment involving LR and LT. This highlight presents evidence concerning recent studies evaluating LR and LT in HCC patients. In addition, alternative therapies for the treatment of early stage tumors and the management of patients on transplant waiting lists are discussed.

Pure laparoscopic hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma with chronic liver disease

Pure laparoscopic hepatectomy is a less invasive procedure than conventional open hepatectomy for the resection of hepatic lesions. Increases in experiences with the technique, in combination with advances in technology, have promoted the popularity of pure laparoscopic hepatectomy. However, indications for usage and potential contraindications of the procedure remain unresolved. The characteristics and specific advantages of the procedure, especially for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) patients with chronic liver diseases,are reviewed and discussed in this paper. For cirrhotic patients with liver tumors, pure laparoscopic hepatectomy minimizes destruction of the collateral blood and lymphatic flow from laparotomy and mobilization, and mesenchymal injury from compression. Therefore, pure laparoscopic hepatectomy has the specific advantage of minimal postoperative ascites production that leads to lowering the risk of disturbance in water or electrolyte balance and hypoproteinemia. It minimizes complications that routinely trigger postoperative serious liver failure. Under adequate patient positioning and port arrangement, the partial resection of the liver in the area of subphrenic space, peri-inferior vena cava area or next to the attachment of retro-peritoneum is facilitated in pure laparoscopic surgery by providing good vision and manipulation in the small operative field.Furthermore, the features of reduced post-operative adhesion, good vision, and manipulation within the small area between the adhesions make this procedure safer in the context of repeat hepatectomy procedures.These improved features are especially advantageous for patients with liver cirrhosis and multicentric and/or metachronous HCCs.

Pure laparoscopic hepatectomy as repeat surgery and repeat hepatectomy

AIM:To assess clinical outcomes of laparoscopic hepatectomy(LH) in patients with a history of upper abdominal surgery and repeat hepatectomy.METHODS:This study compared the perioperative courses of patients receiving LH at our institution that had or had not previously undergone upper abdominal surgery.Of the 80 patients who underwent LH,22 had prior abdominal surgeries,including hepatectomy(n = 12),pancreatectomy(n = 3),cholecystectomy and common bile duct excision(n = 1),splenectomy(n = 1),total gastrectomy(n = 1),colectomy with the involvement of transverse colon(n = 3),and extended hysterectomy with extensive lymph-node dissection up to the upper abdomen(n = 1).Clinical indicators including operating time,blood loss,hospital stay,and morbidity were compared among the groups.RESULTS:Eighteen of the 22 patients who had undergone previous surgery had severe adhesions in the area around the liver.However,there were no conversions to laparotomy in this group.In the 58 patients without a history of upper abdominal surgery,the median operative time was 301 min and blood loss was 150 m L.In patients with upper abdominal surgical history or repeat hepatectomy,the operative times were 351 and 301 min,and blood loss was 100 and 50 m L,respectively.The median postoperative stay was 17,13 and 12 d for patients with no history of upper abdominal surgery,patients with a history,and patients with repeat hepatectomy,respectively.There were five cases with complications in the group with no surgical history,compared to only one case in the group with a prior history.There were no statistically significant differences in the perioperative results between the groups with and without upper abdominal surgical history,or with repeat hepatectomy.CONCLUSION:LH is feasible and safe in patients with a history of upper abdominal surgery or repeat hepatectomy.

Caudal approach to pure laparoscopic posterior sectionectomy under the laparoscopy-specific view

AIM:To study our novel caudal approach laparoscopic posterior-sectionectomy with parenchymal transection prior to mobilization under laparoscopy-specific view.METHODS:Points of the procedure are:(1) Patients are put in left lateral position and posterior sector is not mobilized;(2) Glissonian pedicle of the sector is encircled and clamped extra-hepatically and divided afterward during the transection;(3) Dissection of inferior vena cava(IVC) anterior wall behind the liver is started from caudal.Simultaneously,liver transection is performed to search right hepatic vein(RHV) from caudal;(4) Liver transection proceeds to the bifurcation of the vessels from caudal to cranial,exposing the surfaces of IVC and RHV.Since the remnant liver sinks down,the cutting surface is well-opend;and(5) After the completion of transection,dissection of the resected liver from retroperitoneum is easily performed using the gravity.This approach was performed for a 63 years old woman with liver metastasis close to RHV.RESULTS:RHV exposure is required for R0 resection of the lesion.Although the cutting plane is horizontal in supine position and the gravity obstructs the exposure in the small subphrenic space,the use of specific characteristics of laparoscopic hepatectomy,such as the good vision for the dorsal part of the liver and IVC and facilitated dissection using the gravity with the patient positioning,made the complete RHV exposure during the liver transection easy to perform.The operation time was 341 min and operative blood loss was 1356 mL.Her postoperative hospital stay was uneventfull and she is well without any signs of recurrences 14 mo after surgery.CONCLUSION:The new procedure is feasible and useful for the patients with tumors close to RHV and the need of the exposure of RHV.

Laparoscopic liver resection for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

Accumulation of experiences and technological advances after the first report of laparoscopic liver resection(LLR) are now revealing the characteristics and specific advantages of this approach, especially for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) patients with chronic liver diseases(CLD). Inlaparoscopic approach, there are minimum needs for:(1) laparotomy and dissection of the attachments and adhesion which may cause destructions in the collateral blood and lymphatic flows; and(2) compression of the liver which may cause parenchymal damage for the liver resection(LR). These are especially beneficial for the patients with CLD. LLR results in minimal postoperative ascites and the other complications, which could potentially lead to lowering the risk of fatal liver failure. These characteristics of LLR facilitate surgical treatment application to the patients of HCC with background CLD. Laparoscopic approach also results in improved vision and manipulation in a small operative field under several conditions, including the cases where it is necessary to perform repeat LR between adhesions. These characteristics make LLR safer and more accessible to the repeat treatment, such as multicentric and metachronous lesions in the cirrhotic liver. These advantages of LLR indicate it is a superior method than open LR under certain conditions in patients of HCC with background CLD.