ABSTRACT
Objective:To analyze the apply effect of radiofrequency ablation assisted associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (RALPPS) in liver cancer patients with insufficient future liver remnant (FLR).Methods:The data of 29 patients who underwent RALPPS in the First Affiliated Hospital of the Army Military Medical University from June 2014 to July 2020 were analyzed, including 25 males and 4 females, aged (46.6±9.9) years. The patients were divided into the second stage group (completed the second stage operation, n=18) and the first stage group (completed only the first stage operation, n=11) according to whether they had successfully completed the second stage operation. FLR, percentage of FLR in standard liver volume (percentage of FLR), growth rate of FLR, liver function after operation, operation time and radiofrequency ablation time of first stage operation, surgical complications were compared between the two groups. Results:The percentage of FLR before the first stage operation was (30.0±7.0)% in 29 patients, and the second stage operation was completed in 18 patients (62.1%). After the first stage operation, the aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase in the second stage group were 519.0 (362.9, 696.0) U/L and 391.8 (297.2, 591.1) U/L, which were better than those of the first stage group 931.0 (711.7, 1131.9) U/L and 851.3 (426.6, 888.0) U/L (both P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups in FLR and percentage of FLR before the first stage operation, duration time, amount of bleeding and time of radiofrequency ablation of the first stage operation (all P>0.05). In the second stage group, the interval between two operations was (21.6±6.7) days, the FLR before the second stage operation was (623.2±101.8) cm 3, the FLR percentage was (49.0±7.0)%, and the FLR growth rate was (19.0±5.0)%. In the first stage group, there were 11 patients (100.0%) who developed complication after first stage operation, induding 7 patients (63.6%) with complication above Clavien-Dindo grade Ⅲb. In the second stage group, 18 patients (100.0%) developed complication after the first stage operation. There were no complication above grade Ⅲb. The causes of 11 patients who did not completed secondary surgery included poor liver function and insufficient FLR in 4 patients, tumor progression in 6 patients, and death in 1 patient. Conclusion:RALPPS is a therapeutic option for liver cancer patients with insufficient FLR, and the therapeutic effect is reasonable.
ABSTRACT
Objective To study the feasibility and safety of simultaneous super-selective hepatic arterial and portal vein embolization for staged hepatectomy (ASAPS) in the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cirrhosis.Methods The clinical data of 8 patients with HCC who underwent ASAPS at the First Affiliated Hospital of the Army Medical University from December 2016 to January 2018 were retrospectively analyzed.All the patients,including 7 males and 1 female with an average age of 44.3± 9.2,were diagnosed to have cirrhosis with insufficient volume of future liver remnant (FLR).Portal vein embolization (PVE) and super-selective hepatic arterial embolization (SHAE) were performed simultaneously.The patients were then closely monitored for the volumes of FLR.Once the FLR achieved the target volume,a second staged resectional surgery would be performed.The postoperative major complications,laboratory tests and patient long-term survival were studied.Results The ratio of FLR to the average standard liver volume (SLV) increased from (28.5±5) ％ to (49.6±7.3) ％ following the first-stage procedure.All the patients underwent liver resection successfully.The average second-stage operation time was 342.6±92.8 min,and the intraoperative blood loss was 743.8±432.1 ml.Both the postoperative serum alanine amin otransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were elevated remarkably and then droppedto the near normal levels.All the patients were discharged home without any severe complications.Among them,3 patients relapsed early in the postoperative period,5 survived without recurrence,and 3 survived for over 1 year.Conclusions The first-stage surgery of associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS) using ASAPS was minimally invasive.The volume growth rate of the FLR after ASAPS was comparable to that of the conventional first stage of ALPPS.In conclusion,ASAPS is a promising alternative to the traditional ALPPS as the first-line treatment of patients with insufficient FLR.