Major liver resections,perioperative issues and posthepatectomy liver failure:A comprehensive update for the anesthesiologist

Significant advances in surgical techniques and relevant medium-and long-term outcomes over the past two decades have led to a substantial expansion in the indications for major liver resections.To support these outstanding results and to reduce perioperative complications,anesthesiologists must address and master key perioperative issues(preoperative assessment,proactive intraoperative anesthesia strategies,and implementation of the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery approach).Intensive care unit monitoring immediately following liver surgery remains a subject of active and often unresolved debate.Among postoperative complications,posthepatectomy liver failure(PHLF)occurs in different grades of severity(A-C)and frequency(9%-30%),and it is the main cause of 90-d postoperative mortality.PHLF,recently redefined with pragmatic clinical criteria and perioperative scores,can be predicted,prevented,or anticipated.This review highlights:(1)The systemic consequences of surgical manipulations anesthesiologistsmust respond to or prevent,to positively impact PHLF(a proactive approach);and(2)the maximal intensivetreatment of PHLF,including artificial options,mainly based,so far,on Acute Liver Failure treatment(s),to buytime waiting for the recovery of the native liver or,when appropriate and in very selected cases,toward livertransplant.Such a clinical context requires a strong commitment to surgeons,anesthesiologists,and intensivists towork together,for a fruitful collaboration in a mandatory clinical continuum.

Atypical presentation of pioderma gangrenosum complicating ulcerative colitis: Rapid disappearance with methylprednisolone

Piodermal gangrenosum (PG) is an uncommon ulcerative cutaneous dermatosis associated with a variety of systemic diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), arthritis, leukaemia, hepatitis, and primary billiary cirrhosis. Other cutaneous ulceration resembling PG had been described in literature. There has been neither laboratory finding nor histological feature diagnostic of PG, and diagnosis of PG is mainly made based on the exclusion criteria. We present here a patient, with ulcerative colitis (UC) who was referred to the emergency section with a large and rapidly evolving cutaneous ulceration. Laboratory and microbiological investigation associated with histological findings of the ulcer specimen allowed us to exclude autoimmune and systemic diseases as well as immuno-proliferative disorders. An atypical presentation of PG with UC was diagnosed. Pulse boluses of i.v. methyl-prednisolone were started, and after tapering steroids, complete resolution of the skin lesion was achieved in 3 wk. The unusual rapid healing of the skin ulceration with steroid mono-therapy and the atypical cutaneous presentation in this patient as well as the risk of misdiagnosis of PG in the clinical practice were discussed.

Endoscopic multiple metal stenting for the treatment of enteral leaks near the biliary orifice: A novel effective rescue procedure

Between April 2013 and October 2015, 6 patients developed periampul ary duodenal or jejunal/biliary leaks after major abdominal surgery. In all patients, percutaneous drainage of the collection or re-operation with primary surgical repair was attempted at first but failed. A fully covered enteral metal stent was placed in all patients to seal the leak. Subsequently, we cannulated the common bile duct and, in some cases, and the main pancreatic duct inserting hydrophilic guidewires through the stent after dilating the stent mesh with a dilatation balloon or breaking the meshes with Argon Plasma Beam. Finally, we inserted a fully covered biliary metal stent to drain the bile into the lumen of the enteral stent. In cases of normal proximal upper gastrointestinal anatomy, a pancreatic plastic stent was also inserted. Oral food intake was initiated when the abdominal drain outflow stopped completely. Stent removal was scheduled four to eight weeks later after a CT scan to confirm the complete healing of the fistula and the absence of any perilesional residual fluid collection. The leak resolved in five patients. One patient died two days after the procedure due to severe, pre-existing, sepsis. The stents were removed endoscopically in four weeks in four patients. In one patient we experiencedstent migration causing small bowel obstruction. In this case, the stents were removed surgically. Four patients are still alive today. They are still under follow-up and doing well. Bilio-enteral fully covered metal stenting with or without pancreatic stenting was feasible, safe and effective in treating postoperative enteral leaks near the biliopancreatic orifice in our small series. This minimally invasive procedure can be implemented in selected patients as a rescue procedure to repair these challenging leaks.

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration for suspected malignancies adjacent to the gastrointestinal tract

AIM:To investigate the impact of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration(EUS-FNA)in association with a multidisciplinary team evaluation for the detection of gastrointestinal malignancies.METHODS:A cohort of 1019 patients with suspected malignant lesions adjacent to the gastrointestinal tract received EUS-FNA after a standardized multidisciplinary team evaluation(MTE)and were divided into 4 groups according to their specific malignant risk score(MRS).Patients with a MRS of 0(without detectable risk of malignancy)received only EUS without FNA.For patients with a MRS score ranging from 1(low risk)-through 2(intermediate risk)-to 3(high risk),EUS-FNA cytology of the lesion was planned for a different time and was prioritized for those patients at higher risk for cancer.The accuracy,efficiency and quality assessment for the early detection of patients with potentially curable malignant lesions were evaluated for the whole cohort and in the different classes of MRSs.The time to definitive cytological diagnosis(TDCD),accuracy,sensitivity,specificity,positive and negative predictive values,and the rate of inconclusive tests were calculated for all patients and for each MRS group.RESULTS:A total of 1019 patients with suspected malignant lesions were evaluated by EUS-FNA.In 515patients of 616 with true malignant lesions the tumor was diagnosed by EUS-FNA;421 patients with resectable lesions received early surgical treatment,and 94patients received chemo-radiotherapy.The overall diagnostic accuracy for the 1019 lesions in which a final diagnosis was obtained by EUS-FNA was 0.95.When patients were stratified by MTE into 4 classes of MRSs,a higher rate of patients in the group with higher cancer risk(MRS-3)received early treatment and EUSFNA showed the highest level of accuracy(1.0).TDCD was also shorter in the MRS-3 group.The number of patients who received surgical treatment or chemo-radiotherapy was significantly higher in the MRS-3 patient group(36.3%in MRS-3,10.7%in MRS-2,and 3.5%in MRS-1).CONCLUSION:EUS-FNA can effectively detect a curable malignant lesions at an earlier time and at a higher rate in patients with a higher cancer risk that were evaluated using MTE.

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided drainage of pancreatic fluid collections: The impact of evolving experience and new technologies in diagnosis and treatment over the last two decades

Background: Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided drainage is the preferred approach for drainage of pan- creatic uid collections (PFCs) due to the better experience and signi cant progress using newer stents and access devices during last decade. This study aimed to evaluate the role of the evolving experience and possible in uence of new technological devices on the outcome of patients evaluated for PFCs and submitted to EUS-guided drainage during two different periods: the early period at the beginning of experience when a standardized technique was used and the late period when the increased experience of the operator, combined with different stents quality were introduced in the management of PFCs. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of a cohort of 91 consecutive patients, who underwent EUS-guided drainage of symptomatic PFCs from October 2001 to September 2017. Demographic, therapeutic results, complications, and outcomes were compared between early years’ group (2001 2008) and late years’ group (2009 2017). Results: Endoscopic treatment was successfully achieved in 55.6% (20/36) of patients in the early years’ group, and in 96.4% (53/55) in the late years’ group. Eighteen patients (12 in early years’ and 6 in the late year’s group) required additional open surgery. Procedural complications were observed in 5 patients, 4 in early years’ and 1 in late years’ group. Mortality was registered in two patients (2.2%), one for each group. Conclusions: During our long-term survey using EUS-guided endoscopic drainage of PFCs, signi cantly better outcomes in term of improved success rate and decrease complications rate were observed during the late period.

Repair of a mal-repaired biliary injury:A case report

Iatrogenic bile-duct injury post-laparoscopic cholecystectomy remains a major serious complication with unpredictable long-term results.We present a patient who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy for gallstones,in which the biliary injury was recognized intraoperatively.The surgical procedure was converted to an open one.The first surgeon repaired the injury over a T-tube without recognizing the anatomy and type of the biliary lesion,which led to an unusual biliary malrepair.Immediately postoperatively,the abdominal drain brought a large amount of bile.A T-tube cholangiogram was performed.Despite the contrast medium leaking through the abdominal drain,the malrepair was unrecognized.The patient was referred to our hospital for biliary leak.Ultrasound and cholangiography was repeated,which showed an unanatomical repair(right to left hepatic duct anastomosis over the T-tube),with evidence of contrast medium coming out through the abdominal drain.Eventually the patient was subjected to a definitive surgical treatment.The biliary continuity was reestablished by a Roux-en-Y hepatico-jejunostomy,over transanastomotic external biliary stents.The patient is now doing well 4 years after the second surgical procedure.In reviewing the literature,we found a similar type of injury but we did not find a similar surgical malrepair.We propose an algorithm for the treatment of early and late biliary injuries.