Intraoperative cell salvage with autologous transfusion in liver transplantation

Liver transplant(LT) is the primary treatment for patients with end-stage liver disease. About 25000 LTs are performed annually in the world. The potential for intraoperative bleeding is quite variable. However, massive bleeding is common and requires blood transfusion. Allogeneic blood transfusion has an immunosuppressive effect and an impact on recipient survival, in addition to the risk of transmission of viral infections and transfusion errors, among others.Techniques to prevent excessive bleeding or to use autologous blood have been proposed to minimize the negative effects of allogeneic blood transfusion.Intraoperative reinfusion of autologous blood is possible through previous selfdonation or blood collected during the operation. However, LT does not normally allow autologous transfusion by prior self-donation. Hence, using autologous blood collected intraoperatively is the most feasible option. The use of intraoperative blood salvage autotransfusion(IBSA) minimizes the perioperative use of allogeneic blood, preventing negative transfusion effects without negatively impacting other clinical outcomes. The use of IBSA in patients with cancer is still a matter of debate due to the theoretical risk of reinfusion of tumor cells. However, studies have demonstrated the safety of IBSA in several surgical procedures, including LT for hepatocellular carcinoma. Considering the literature available to date, we can state that IBSA should be routinely used in LT, both in patients with cancer and in patients with benign diseases.

Surgical management and outcomes of severe gastrointestinal injuries due to corrosive ingestion

AIM:To report our experience in the surgical management of severe injuries of the gastrointestinal tract due to corrosive ingestion.METHODS:A retrospective review of patients who underwent emergency surgery for severe gastrointestinal injuries following corrosive ingestion between 1983 and 2010 was carried out.Data was extracted from a prospectively maintained esophageal disease database.Severe corrosive injuries were defined as full thickness necrosis with perforation of the esophagus or the stomach(with or without involvement of the adjacent viscera) with resultant mediastinitis or peritonitis.RESULTS:Between 1983 and 2010,209 patients with corrosive injury of the esophagus were managed.Of these,13(6.2%) patients underwent emergency surgery for severe corrosive injury.The median age of the patients was 22 years and the median interval between ingestion of the corrosive substance and surgery was 24 h.The surgical procedures done included esophagogastrectomy alone(n = 6),esophagogastrectomy withduodenectomy(n = 4),esophagogastrectomy with pancreaticoduodenectomy(n = 1),esophagogastrectomy with splenectomy(n = 1) and distal gastrectomy with duodenectomy(n = 1).Two patients died in the postoperative period and one after discharge awaiting the second surgery.The factors significantly predictive of mortality following such an injury included renal failure at the time of initial presentation,presence of metabolic acidosis,delay of more than 24 h between corrosive ingestion and surgery,and corrosive induced adjacent organ injury(pancreatic)(P < 0.001,0.02,0.005 and 0.015 respectively).Ten patients underwent subsequent surgery for restoration of the alimentary tract continuity with a colonic pull-up(n = 8) and gastrojejunostomy(n = 1).In one patient,the attempted colon pull-up failed due to extensive scarring of the mesocolon.The median follow up(following restoration of continuity of the gastrointestinal tract) was 36.5 mo.One patient developed dysphagia due to a stricture at the anastomotic site,which was successfully managed by dilatation.Another patient developed severe aspiration,necessitating laryngeal inlet closure and permanent tracheostomy,and 3 patients complained of occasional regurgitation.CONCLUSION:Management of severe corrosive injury involves prompt resuscitation and urgent surgical debridement.Although the subsequent restoration of continuity may be complicated and may not always be possible,long term outcomes are acceptable in the majority.

Umbilical hernia in patients with liver cirrhosis: A surgical challenge

Umbilical hernia occurs in 20% of the patients with liver cirrhosis complicated with ascites. Due to the enormous intraabdominal pressure secondary to the ascites, umbilical hernia in these patients has a tendency to enlarge rapidly and to complicate. The treatment of umbilical hernia in these patients is a surgical challenge. Ascites control is the mainstay to reduce hernia recurrence and postoperative complications, such as wound infection, evisceration, ascites drainage, and peritonitis. Intermittent paracentesis, temporary peritoneal dialysis catheter or transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt may be necessary to control ascites. Hernia repair is indicated in patients in whom medical treatment is effective in controlling ascites. Patients who have a good perspective to be transplanted within 3-6 mo, herniorrhaphy should be performed during transplantation. Hernia repair with mesh is associated with lower recurrence rate, but with higher surgical site infection when compared to hernia correction with conventional fascial suture. There is no consensus on the best abdominal wall layer in which the mesh should be placed: Onlay, sublay, or underlay. Many studies have demonstrated several advantages of the laparoscopic umbilical herniorrhaphy in cirrhotic patients compared with open surgical treatment.

Esophagogastric junction outflow obstruction successfully treated with laparoscopic Heller myotomy and Dor fundoplication: First case report in the literature

BACKGROUND Esophagogastric junction outflow obstruction(EGJOO) is a rare syndrome,characterized by an elevation of the integrated relaxation pressure of the lower esophageal sphincter, not accompanied by alterations in esophageal motility that may lead to the criteria for achalasia. We were unable to find any prior report of the combination of Heller myotomy with anterior partial fundoplication(Dor) as the treatment for EGJOO. We herein report a case of EGJOO treated with laparoscopic Heller myotomy combined with Dor fundoplication.CASE SUMMARY A 26-year-old man presented with a 3-year history of solid dysphagia and a 30-kg weight loss. He was treated with oral nifedipine, isosorbide, and omeprazole,without resolution of symptoms. An upper gastrointestinal series(barium swallow) revealed a "bird's beak" sign. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy was positive for Los Angeles grade A peptic esophagitis. High-resolution esophageal manometry was compatible with EGJOO. Esophageal pH monitoring showed pathological acid reflux both in orthostatic and decubitus position. An 8-cm laparoscopic Heller myotomy combined with an anterior 220° Dor fundoplication was performed. Solid diet was introduced on postoperative day 2, and the patient was discharged home the same day. At 17-mo follow-up, he reported no symptoms. Barium swallow was compatible with complete radiologic resolution.Both esophageal manometry and upper endoscopy showed normal findings 9 mo after the operation.CONCLUSION Surgical treatment with Heller myotomy and Dor fundoplication is a potential treatment option for EGJOO refractory to medical treatment.

Development of a prognostic scoring system for resectable hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM To develop a prognostic scoring system for overall survival(OS) of patients undergoing liver resection(LR) for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).METHODS Consecutive patients who underwent curative LR for HCC between 2000 and 2013 were identified. The series was randomly divided into a training and a validation set. A multivariable Cox model for OS was fitted to the training set. The beta coefficients derived from the Cox model were used to define a prognostic scoring system for OS. The survival stratification was then tested, and the prognostic scoring system was compared with the European Association for the Study of the Liver(EASL)/American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases(AASLD) surgical criteria by means of Harrell's C statistics.RESULTS A total of 917 patients were considered. Five variables independently correlated with post-LR survival: Model for End-stage Liver Disease score, hepatitis C virus infection, number of nodules, largest diameter and vascular invasion. Three risk classes were identified, and OS for the three risk classes was significantly different both in the training(P < 0.0001) and the validation set(P = 0.0002). Overall, 69.4% of patients were in the low-risk class, whereas only 37.8% were eligible to surgery according to EASL/AASLD. Survival of patients in the low-risk class was not significantly different compared with surgical indication for EASL/AASLD guidelines(77.2 mo vs 82.5 mo respectively, P = 0.22). Comparison of Harrell's C statistics revealed no significant difference in predictive power between the two systems(-0.00999, P = 0.667).CONCLUSION This study established a new prognostic scoring system that may stratify HCC patients suitable for surgery, expanding surgical eligibility with respect to EASL/AASLD criteria with no harm on survival.

Competing risk analysis on outcome after hepatic resection of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotic patients

AIM To investigate death for liver failure and for tumor recurrence as competing events after hepatectomy of hepatocellular carcinoma.METHODS Data from 864 cirrhotic Child-Pugh class A consecutive patients, submitted to curative hepatectomy(1997-2013) at two tertiary referral hospitals, were used for competing-risk analysis through the Fine and Gray method, aimed at assessing in which circumstances the oncological benefit from tumour removal is greater than the risk of dying from hepatic decompensation. To accomplish this task, the average risk of these two competing events, over 5 years of follow-up, was calculated through the integral of each cumulative incidence function, and represented the main comparison parameter. RESULTS Within a median follow-up of 5.6 years, death was attributable to tumor recurrence in 63.5%, and to liver failure in 21.2% of cases. In the first 16 mo, the risk of dying due to liver failure exceeded that of dying due to tumor relapse. Tumor stage only affects death from recurrence; whereas hepatitis C infection, Model for End-stage Liver Disease score, extent of hepatectomy and portal hypertension influence death from liver failure(P < 0.05 in all cases). The combination of these clinical and tumoral features identifies those patients in whom the risk of dying from liver failure did not exceed the tumour-related mortality, representing optimal surgical candidates. It also identifies those clinical circumstances where the oncological benefit would be borderline or even where the surgery would be harmful. CONCLUSION Having knowledge of these competing events can be used to weigh the risks and benefits of hepatic resection in each clinical circumstance, separating optimal from non-optimal surgical candidates.

The SIRveNIB and SARAH trials, radioembolization vs. sorafenib in advanced HCC patients: reasons for a failure, and perspectives for the future

Liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer and the second most frequent cause of cancer-related death globally.Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)represents nearly 90%of primary liver cancers,and constitutes a major health problem worldwide(1).When diagnosed at an early stage of the disease,HCC may benefit from potentially curative treatments such as liver resection,liver transplantation or local ablation.Despite effectiveness of treatment in early and very early stages,most patients are diagnosed or progress to an intermediate or advanced stage,in which treatment options are limited and the prognosis is poor(2).