Perioperative fluid management in major hepatic resection: an integrative review

BACKGROUND: Fluid intervention and vasoactive pharmacological support during hepatic resection depend on the preference of the attending clinician, institutional resources, and practice culture. Evidence-based recommendations to guide perioperative fluid management are currently limited. Therefore, we provide a contemporary clinical integrative overview of the fundamental principles underpinning fluid intervention and hemodynamic optimization for adult patients undergoing major hepatic resection. DATA SOURCES: A literature review was performed of MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials using the terms 'surgery', 'anesthesia', 'starch', 'hydroxyethyl starch derivatives', 'albumin', 'gelatin', 'liver resection', 'hepatic resection', 'fluids', 'fluid therapy', 'crystalloid', 'colloid', 'saline', 'plasma-Lyte', 'plasmalyte', 'hartmann's', 'acetate', and 'lactate'. Search results for MEDLINE and EMBASE were additionally limited to studies on human populations that included adult age groups and publications in English. RESULTS: A total of 113 articles were included after appropriate inclusion criteria screening. Perioperative fluid management as it relates to various anesthetic and surgical techniques is discussed.CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians should have a fundamental understanding of the surgical phases of the resection, hemodynamic goals, and anesthesia challenges in attempts to individualize therapy to the patient's underlying pathophysiological condition. Therefore, an ideal approach for perioperative fluid therapy is always individualized. Planning and designing large-scale clinical trials are imperative to define the optimal type and amount of fluid for patients undergoing major hepatic resection. Further clinical trials evaluating different intraoperative goal-directed strategies are also eagerly awaited.

From minimal to maximal surgery in the treatment of hepatocarcinoma:A review

Hepatocellular carcinoma represents one of the most challenging frontiers in liver surgery. Surgeons have to face a broad spectrum of aspects,from the underlying liver disease to the new surgical techniques. Safe liver resection can be performed in patients with portal hypertension and well-compensated liver function witha 5-year survival rate of 50%,offering good longterms results in selected patients. With the advances in laparoscopic surgery,major liver resections can be performed with minimal harm,avoiding the wound and leak complications related to the laparotomies. Studies have shown that oncological margins are the same as in open surgery. In patients submitted to liver resection(either laparoscopic or open) who experience recurrence,re-resection or salvage liver transplantation has been showing to be an alternative approach in well selected cases. The decision making approach to the cirrhotic patient is becoming more complex and should involve hepatologists,liver surgeons,radiologists and oncologists. Better understanding of the different risk factors for recurrence and survival should be aimed in these multidisciplinary discussions. We here in discuss the hot topics related to surgical risk factors regarding the surgical treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma: anatomical resection,margin status,macrovascular tumor invasion,the place of laparoscopy,salvage liver transplantation and liver transplantation.

Unusual cause of gastrointestinal bleeding in a cirrhotic patient:hepatocellular carcinoma with gastric invasion

BACKGROUND:Upper gastrointestinal(GI)bleeding is a common complication of portal hypertension in cirrhotic patients,and hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is the most common tumor in cirrhotic livers.Bleeding from tumor erosion into the GI tract is very rare.A patient with HCC and gastric tumor invasion was described and the previously reported cases were reviewed. METHOD:A patient with upper GI bleeding was treated in a tertiary hospital. RESULTS:A cirrhotic patient with a HCC invading the stomach leading to upper GI bleeding was treated by left lateral segmentectomy and sub-total gastrectomy.The bleeding was controlled and a good surgical outcome was achieved. CONCLUSIONS:HCC with gastric invasion should be differentially diagnosed from upper GI bleeding in cirrhotic patients.Bleeding can be controlled and symptomatic relief marked in selected cases.

Surgical treatment of fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma:an underestimated malignant tumor?

BACKGROUND： Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma （FLHCC） is a rare disease with an indolent behavior. Its prognosis is better than that of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The authors present their experience with resection of FLHCC. METHODS： Twenty-one patients with FLHCC were treated at our institution between 1990 and 2012. Of these patients, 14 were subjected to resection of the tumor. Patient demographics, medical history, results of imaging studies and laboratory tests, surgical data, and pathologic findings were evaluated. RESULTS： The median age of the patients at the diagnosis of the tumor was 20 years and 14 patients were female. None of the patients had tumor-associated chronic liver disease or cirrhosis. The mean tumor size was 12.8 cm （range 6-19） and 18 patients had a single liver nodule. Fourteen patients were subjected to hepatectomy and six of them had lymph node metastases resected. Pathologic evaluation revealed that 5 （35.7%） patients had major vascular invasion. Tumor recurrence was seen in 8 patients （66.7%）, during a follow-up. The median survival time for patients who were subjected to resection was 36 months. The 5-year overall survival rate and disease free survival rate were 28.0% and 8.5%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that vascular invasion was the only variable associated with the disease free survival rate.CONCLUSIONS： Despite an aggressive treatment, patients with FLHCC presented unexpected low survival rates. It seems that an underestimated malignant behavior is attributed to this disease, and that the forms of adjuvant treatment should be urgently evaluated.

Role of the portal system in liver regeneration:From molecular mechanisms to clinical management

The liver has a strong regenerative capacity that ensures patient recovery after hepatectomy and liver transplantation.The portal system plays a crucial role in the dual blood supply to the liver,making it a significant factor in hepatic function.Several surgical strategies,such as portal vein ligation,associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy,and dual vein embolization,have high-lighted the portal system's importance in liver regeneration.Following hepatectomy or liver trans-plantation,the hemodynamic properties of the portal system change dramatically,triggering regeneration via shear stress and the induction of hypoxia.However,excessive portal hyperperfusion can harm the liver and negatively affect patient outcomes.Furthermore,as the importance of the gut-liver axis has gradually been revealed,the effect of metabolites and cytokines from gut microbes carried by portal blood on liver regeneration has been acknowledged.From these perspectives,this review outlines the molecular mechanisms of the portal system's role in liver regeneration and summarizes therapeutic strategies based on the portal system intervention to promote liver regeneration.