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Postoperative Liver Failure (postoperative + liver_failure)

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Assessment of liver function for safe hepatic resection

HEPATOLOGY RESEARCH, Issue 2 2009
Yasuji Seyama
The preoperative assessment of liver function is extremely important for preventing postoperative liver failure and mortality after hepatic resection. Liver function tests may be divided into three types; conventional liver function tests, general scores, and quantitative liver function tests. General scores are based on selected clinical symptoms and conventional test results. Child,Turcotte,Pugh score has been the gold standard for four decades, but the Child,Turcotte,Pugh score has difficulty discriminating a good risk from a poor risk in patients with mild to moderate liver dysfunction. The model for end-stage liver disease score has also been applied to predict short-term outcome after hepatectomy, but it is only useful in patients with advanced cirrhosis. Quantitative liver function tests overcome the drawbacks of general scores. The indocyanine green retention rate at 15 minutes (ICG R15) has been reported to be a significant predictor of postoperative liver failure and mortality. The safety limit of the hepatic parenchymal resection rate can be estimated using the ICG R15, and a decision tree (known as the Makuuchi criteria) for selecting patients and hepatectomy procedures has been proposed. Hepatic resection can be performed with a mortality rate of nearly zero using this decision tree. If the future remnant liver volume does not fulfill the Makuuchi criteria, preoperative portal vein embolization should be performed to prevent postoperative liver failure. Galactosyl human serum albumin-diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic acid scintigraphy also provides data that complement the ICG test. Other quantitative liver function tests, however, require further validation and simplification. [source]

Cholangiocarcinoma: preoperative biliary drainage (Con)

HPB, Issue 2 2008
A. LAURENT
Aim. In patients with malignant hilar obstruction, liver resection is associated with an increased risk of postoperative liver failure attributed to the need for major liver resection in a context of obstructive jaundice. To overcome this issue, most authors recommend preoperative biliary drainage (PBD). However, PBD carries risks of its own, including, primarily, sepsis and, more rarely, tumor seeding, bile peritonitis, and hemobilia. We, unlike most authors, have not used routine PBD before liver resection in jaundiced patients. Material and methods. Our series includes 62 patients who underwent major liver resection for cholangiocarcinoma; 33 of these had elevated bilurubin (60,470 µmol/l) and were operated without PBD. There were 43 extended right hepatectomies and 18 extended left hepatectomies. Results. Hospital deaths occurred in 5 patients (8%) including 3 of 33 jaundiced patients (9%, ns). All deaths occurred after extended right hepatectomy (12%), including 3 patients with a serum bilirubin level above 300 µmol/l and 2 with normal bilirubin. There were no deaths after left-sided resections, whatever the level of bilirubin. Conclusions. PBD can be omitted in the following situations: recent onset jaundice (<2,3 weeks), total bilirubin <200 µmol/l, no previous endoscopic or transhepatic cholangiography, absence of sepsis, future liver remnant >40%. These criteria include most patients requiring left-sided resections and selected patients requiring right-sided resections. In other cases, PBD is required, associated with portal vein embolization in the event of a small future liver remnant. [source]

Combined liver and inferior vena cava resection for hepatic malignancy

JOURNAL OF SURGICAL ONCOLOGY, Issue 3 2007
Spiros G. Delis MD
Abstract Objective The experience from a single center, in combined liver and inferior vena cava (IVC) resection for liver tumors, is presented. Methods Twelve patients underwent a combined liver resection with IVC replacement. The median age was 45 years (range 35,67 years). Resections were carried out for hepatocellular carcinoma (n,=,4), colorectal metastases (n,=,6), and cholangiocarcinoma (n,=,2). Liver resections included eight right lobectomies and four left trisegmentectomies. The IVC was reconstructed with ringed Gore-Tex tube graft. Results No perioperative deaths were reported. The median operative blood transfusion requirement was 2 units (range 0,12 units) and the median operative time was 5 hr. Median hospital stay was 10 days (range 8,25 days). Three patients had evidence of postoperative liver failure, resolved with supportive management. Two patients developed bile leaks, resolved conservatively. With a median follow up of 24 months, all vascular reconstructions were patent and no evidence of graft infection was documented. Conclusions Aggressive surgical management of liver tumors, offer the only hope for cure or palliation. We suggest that liver resection with vena cava replacement may be performed safely, with acceptable morbidity, by specialized surgical teams. J. Surg. Oncol. 2007;96: 258,264. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]