Vascular resections in minimally invasive surgery for pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma(PDAC)is characterised by poor oncological outcome and is the seventh cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.With the advances in surgical technology,oncological treatment,and critical care,extended pancreatic resections including vascular resections have become more frequently performed in specialised centres.Furthermore,the boundaries of resectability continue to be pushed in order to achieve a potentially curative approach in selected patients in combination with neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment strategies.This review gives an overview on the current state of venous and arterial resections in PDAC surgery with particular attention given to the minimally invasive approach.

Pancreatic cancer surgery with vascular resection: current concepts and perspectives

Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease and resection at an early disease stage is the best chance of cure. Less than 20% of all patients present with a resectable tumor, while another 20% to 30% have locally advanced pancreatic cancer and the majority of the patient suffer from metastatic disease. Recently, it has been recognized that there is a 4th group of patients with so-called borderline resectable disease. Here, the tumor approaches or infiltrates the vascular axis (superior mesenteric vein/portal vein and/or superior mesenteric/hepatic artery/celiac trunk). While a large number of tumors with suspected venous infiltration can be resected with concomitant venous resection and reconstruction, arterial infiltration has been considered a contraindication to resection. Neoadjuvant treatment with combination chemotherapy protocols with or without radiotherapy has allowed for higher resection rates even in patients with arterial invasion. Here, we review the contemporary literature on extensive pancreatic cancer surgery with vascular resection and reconstruction.

Laparoscopic liver resection under hemihepatic vascular inflow occlusion using the lowering of hilar plate approach

BACKGROUND： With advances in technology, laparoscopic liver resection is widely accepted. Laparoscopic liver resection under hemihepatic vascular inflow occlusion has advantages over the conventional total hepatic inflow occlusion using the Pringle＇s maneuver, especially in patients with cirrhosis.METHOD： From November 2011 to August 2012, eight consecutive patients underwent laparoscopic liver resection under hemihepatic vascular inflow occlusion using the lowering of hilar plate approach with biliary bougie assistance.RESULTS： The types of liver resection included right hepatectomy（n1）, right posterior sectionectomy（n1）, left hepatectomy and common bile duct exploration（n1）, segment 4b resection（n1）, left lateral sectionectomy（n2）, and wedge resection（n2）. Four patients underwent right and 4 left hemihepatic vascular inflow occlusion. Four patients had cirrhosis. The mean operation time was 176.3 minutes. The mean time taken to achieve hemihepatic vascular inflow occlusion was 24.3minutes. The mean duration of vascular inflow occlusion was54.5 minutes. The mean intraoperative blood loss was 361 mL.No patient required blood transfusion. Postoperatively, one patient developed bile leak which healed with conservative treatment. No postoperative liver failure and mortality occurred. The mean hospital stay of the patients was 7 days.CONCLUSION： Our technique of hemihepatic vascular inflow vascular occlusion using the lowering of hilar plate approachwas safe, and it improved laparoscopic liver resection by minimizing blood loss during liver parenchymal transection.

Radical resection of pancreatic cancer

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PCa) is a disease with dismal prognosis, and the only possibility of cure, albeit small, is based on the combination of complete resection with negative histopathological margins (R0 resection) with adjuvant treatment. Therefore, a lot of effort has been made during the last decade to assess the role of extensive surgery in both local recurrence and survival of patients with PCa. DATA SOURCES: Medline search and manual cross- referencing were utilized to identify published evidence- based data for PCa surgery between 1973 and 2006, with emphasis to feasibility, efficacy, long-term survival, disease free survival, recurrence rates, pain relief and quality of life. RESULTS: Extended surgery is safe and feasible in high volume surgical centers with comparable short-term results. Organ preserving surgery is a main goal because of quality of life reasons and is performed whenever possible from the tumor extent. Concerning long-term survival major vein resection does not adversely affect outcome. To date, there are no changes in long-term survival attributed to the extended lymph node dissection. However, there is a benefit in locoregional control with fewer local recurrences and extended lymphadenectomy allows better staging for the disease. CONCLUSIONS: Extended PCa surgery is safe and feasible despite the inconclusive results in patient’s survival benefit. In the future, appropriately powered randomized trials of standard vs. extended resections may show improved outcomes for PCa patients.

Novel en-bloc resection of locally advanced hilar cholangiocarcinoma: the Rex recess approach

Loco-regional recurrence after potentially curative resection remains a problem in hilar cholangiocarcinoma. Hilar dissection risks local spillage of tumor cells leading to suboptimal disease free survival. We have developed a new technique of radical resection for hilar cholangiocarcinoma based on the distinctive anatomy of the Rex recess of the liver, which has been assessed in two patients with locally advanced hilar cholangiocarcinoma. This technique included a right hepatectomy with en-bloc resection of the hepatoduodenal ligament and portal venous reconstruction to the left portal vein at the Rex recess. Both patients had R0 resection and have been disease-free for 26 and 38 months, respectively.

One hundred and seventy-eight consecutive pancreatoduodenectomies without mortality:role of the multidisciplinary approach

BACKGROUND:Pancreatoduodenectomy offers the only chance of cure for patients with periampullary cancers.This,however,is a major undertaking in most patients and is associated with a significant morbidity and mortality.A multidisciplinary approach to the workup and follow-up of patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy was initiated at our institution to improve the diagnosis,resection rate,mortality and morbidity.We undertook the study to assess the effect of this approach on diagnosis,resection rates and short-term outcomes such as morbidity and mortality.METHODS:A prospective database of patients presenting with periampullary cancers to a single surgeon between April 2004 and April 2010 was reviewed.All cases were discussed at a multidisciplinary meeting comprising surgeons,gastroenterologists,radiologists,oncologists,radiation oncologists,pathologists and nursing staff.A standardized investigation and management algorithm was followed.Complications were graded according to the Clavien-Dindo classification.RESULTS:A total of 295 patients with a periampullary lesion were discussed and 178 underwent pancreatoduodenectomy (resection rate 60%).Sixty-one patients (34%) required either a vascular or an additional organ resection.Eighty-nine patients experienced complications,of which the commonest was blood transfusion (12%).Thirty-four patients (19%) had major complications,i.e.grade 3 or above.There was no in-hospital,30-day or 60-day mortality.CONCLUSIONS:Pancreatoduodenectomy can safely be performed in high-volume centers with very low mortality.The surgeon’s role should be careful patient selection,intensive preoperative investigations,use of a team approach,and an unbiased discussion at a multidisciplinary meeting to optimize the outcome in these patients.

Resection of hepatocellular carcinoma after combined treatment with transarterial chemoembolization and sorafenib:a case report and literature review

Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)with inferior vena cava(IVC)invasion and metastatic lymph node metastases has a poor prognosis,and surgical resection is seldom indicated.We report how an initially unresectable HCC in a 36-year-old Chinese male with distant lymph node metastases and tumor thrombosis in the IVC was successfully downstaged and ultimately resected together with the IVC.After the disease had been downstaged,curative resection of the tumor and IVC was conducted with immediate reconstruction of the IVC.The patient has survived for more than 2 years after the surgery.In conclusion,tumor and IVC resection can cure metastatic HCC after downstaging treatment combining sorafenib and transarterial chemoembolization.

Modified Appleby:experience improves short-term results,but is it enough?

The aim of this retrospective study(1)from one of the largest European centres of pancreatic surgery was to report the surgical and oncological results of a series of 71 distal pancreatectomies with monobloc resection of the celiac trunk(DP-CAR or modified Appleby)performed for locally advanced pancreatic cancer,over almost 20 years and comparing two periods:before 2013(n=16)and after 2014(n=55).

An extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma mimicking a primary liver cancer

Despite doctors’every effort to be vigilant when diagnosing,sometimes a preoperative diagnosis is disproved by postoperative pathological examination.A patient was diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma and received surgery as treatment.On operation,a solitary retroperitoneal mass rather than a liver lesion was seen.On histopathological examination,the retroperitoneal mass was found to be an extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma.