Transition from open to laparoscopic ALPPS for patients with very small FLR: the initial experience (original) (raw)

Optimizing associated liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy outcomes: Surgical experience or appropriate patient selection?

Canadian Journal of Surgery, 2017

Background: Early reports of associated liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS) outcomes have been suboptimal. The literature has confirmed that learning curves influence surgical outcomes. We have 54 months of continuous experience performing ALPPS with strict selection criteria. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the learning curve on ALPPS outcomes. Methods: We retrospectively compared patients who underwent ALPPS between April 2012 and March 2016. Patients were grouped into 2 24-month (early and late) periods. All candidates had a high tumour load requiring staged hepatectomy after chemotherapy response, a predicted future liver remnant (FLR) less than 30% and good performance status. Results: Thirty-three patients underwent ALPPS during the study period: 16 in the early group (median age 65 yr, mean body mass index [BMI] 27) and 17 in the late group (median age 60 yr, mean BMI 25). Bilobar disease was comparable in both groups (94% v. 88%, p > 0.99). Duration of surgery was not statistically different. Intraoperative blood loss and need for transfusion were significantly lower in the late group (200 ± 109 mL v. 100 ± 43 mL, p < 0.05). The late group had a higher proportion of monosegment ALPPS (4:1). There were no deaths within 90 days in either cohort. Rates of postoperative complications were not statistically significant between groups. The R0 resection rate was similar. The entire 1-year disease-free and overall survival were 52% and 84%, respectively. Conclusion: Excellent results can be obtained in innovative complex surgery with careful patient selection and good technical skills. Additionally, the learning curve brought confidence to perform more complex procedures while maintaining good outcomes. Contexte : Les premiers résultats sur l'association de la partition hépatique et de la ligature portale pour l'hépatectomie en 2 temps (ALPPS) sont sous-optimaux. La littérature a confirmé que les courbes d'apprentissage influencent les résultats des interventions chirurgicales. Notre étude reposait sur 54 mois consécutifs d'utilisation de la technique ALPPS selon des critères de sélection rigoureux. Elle visait à évaluer l'effet de la courbe d'apprentissage sur les résultats liés à l'ALPPS. Méthodes : Nous avons procédé à une comparaison rétrospective des patients traités par l'ALPPS entre avril 2012 et mars 2016. Nous avons divisé les patients en 2 groupes de 24 mois (précoce et tardif). Tous les candidats avaient une charge tumorale élevée nécessitant une hépatectomie en 2 temps après une réponse à la chimiothérapie, un volume estimé de futur foie résiduel (FFR) inférieur à 30 % et un indice fonctionnel favorable. Résultats : Trente-trois patients ont été traités par l'ALPPS pendant la période de l'étude : 16 dans le groupe précoce (âge médian 65 ans, indice de masse corporelle [IMC] moyen 27) et 17 dans le groupe tardif (âge médian 60 ans, IMC moyen 25). Le taux de maladie bilobaire était comparable entre les 2 groupes (94 % c. 88 %, p > 0,99). La durée de la chirurgie n'était pas statistiquement différente. Les pertes de sang peropératoires et le besoin de transfusion étaient significativement inférieurs dans le groupe tardif (200 ± 109 mL c. 100 ± 43 mL, p < 0,05). Le groupe tardif avait une proportion plus élevée d'ALPPS mono-segmentaires (4:1). Il n'y a eu aucun décès dans les 90 jours parmi les 2 cohortes. Les taux de complications postopératoires n'étaient pas statistiquement significatifs entre les groupes. Le taux de résection R0 était similaire. Les taux de survie sans récidive après une année complète et de survie globale étaient de 52 % et de 84 %, respectivement.

Associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS): A new strategy to increase resectability in liver surgery

International Journal of Surgery, 2014

Background: Partial hepatectomy with clear surgical margins is the main curative treatment for hepatic malignancies. The safety of liver resection, to a great extent, depends on the volume of future liver remnant. This manuscript reviews some important strategies that have been developed to increase resectability for patients with borderline volume of future liver remnant, particularly associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS). Methods: To identify potentially relevant articles, we searched Medline and PubMed from January 2010 to December 2013 using the keywords "Associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy", "ALPPS", "portal vein embolization", "future liver remnant", "liver hypertrophy", and "liver failure". A number of references from the key articles were also cited. There were no exclusion criteria for published information to the topics. Results: Portal vein ligation (PVL) or embolization (PVE) are traditional approaches to induce liver hypertrophy of the future liver remnant (FLR) prior to hepatectomy in primarily non-resectable liver tumors. However, about 14 percent of patients fail to this approach. Adequate hypertrophy of the FLR using PVL or PVE generally takes more than four weeks. ALPPS can induce rapid growth of the FLR, which is more effective than by portal vein embolization or occlusion alone. Reportedly, the hypertrophy extent of FLR was 40%e80% within 6e9 days in contrast to approximately 8%e27% within 2e60 days by PVL/PVE. However, ALPPS was reported to have high operative morbidity (16%e64% of patients), mortality (12% e23% of patients) and bile leakage rates. Bile leakage and sepsis remain a major cause of morbidity, and the main cause of mortality includes hepatic insufficiency. Conclusion: ALPPS has emerged as a new strategy to increase resectability of hepatic malignancies. Due to high morbidity and mortality rates of ALPPS procedure, the surgical candidates should be selected carefully. Moreover, there are very limited available evidence for its technical feasibility, safety and oncological outcome which are needed for further evaluation in larger scale of studies.

First totally laparoscopic ALPPS procedure with selective hepatic artery clamping: Case report of a new technique

Medicine, 2016

ALPPS (Associating Liver Partition and Portal vein ligation for Staged hepatectomy) is a new surgical approach for the treatment of liver tumors. It is indicated in cases where the future liver remnant is not sufficient to maintain postoperative liver function. We report a totally laparoscopic ALPPS with selective hepatic artery clamping. Pneumoperitoneum itself results in up to 53% of portal vein flow and selective hepatic artery clamping can reduce blood loss while maintaining hepatocellular function. Therefore, the combination of both techniques may result in effective control of bleeding with no damage in the liver function that may have direct impact in the result of ALPPS procedure. A 65-year-old man with colorectal liver metastases in all liver segments, except liver segment 1 (S1), were evaluated as unresectable. He underwent chemotherapy with objective response and multidisciplinary board decided for ALPPS procedure. First stage was performed entirely by laparoscopy and con...

Associating Liver Partition and Portal Vein Ligation for Staged Hepatectomy (ALPPS): Tips and Tricks

Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, 2013

Background Posthepatectomy liver failure is the most severe complication after major hepatectomies and it is associated with an insufficient future liver remnant (FLR). Associating liver partition and portal vein ligation (PVL) has recently been described as a revolutionary strategy to induce a rapid and large FLR volume increase. We aim to describe our surgical technique, patient management, and preliminary results with this new two-stage approach. Technique During the first stage, liver partition and PVL of the diseased hemiliver are performed. The completion surgery is carried out after volumetric studies have demonstrated a sufficient FLR and provided the patient is in good condition. This is usually achieved after 7 days. In the second step, the patient undergoes a completion surgery with right hepatectomy, right trisectionectomy, or left trisectionectomy. Results Fifteen patients with advanced liver tumors were treated. Nine patients were males and the mean age was 54 years old. The mean difference between the preoperative and postoperative FLR volume was 303 ml (p<0.001), which represented a mean volume increase of 78.4 %. All resections were R0. Morbidity and mortality rates were 53 and 0 %, respectively. The average hospital stay was 19 days. Conclusions The presented technique was feasible and safe in the hands of experienced hepatobiliary surgeons, with satisfactory short-term results. It induces rapid liver hypertrophy and at the same time it offers the possibility of cure to patients previously declared unresectable.

Feasibility of laparoscopic portal vein ligation prior to major hepatectomy

HPB, 2008

Background. Patients noted to have an inadequate future liver remnant on pre operative volumetric assessment are considered to be candidates for portal vein embolization (PVE). A subset of patients undergo laparoscopic intervention prior to PVE for staging purposes or to address the primary in Stage IV colon cancer. These patients usually undergo PVE as a subsequent additional procedure by the transhepatic route. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of portal vein ligation by the laparoscopic approach in suitable patients. Materials and methods. A retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database was performed to identify patients that underwent laparoscopic portal vein ligation (LPVL). The demographic, clinical, radiographic, operative and volumetric details were collected to determine the feasibility of portal vein ligation. Results. A total of nine patients underwent LPVL as part of a two stage procedure in preparation for subsequent major hepatectomy. With a median age of 67 yrs, the diagnoses included: colorectal metastasis (five patients), cholangiocarcinoma (three patients) and hepatocellular carcinoma (one patient). The ligation involved the right portal vein in all and was performed with silk ligature (seven patients) and clips (two patients). Volumetric data was available in six patients which showed a mean increase from 209.1 cc997.76 to 495.83 cc9310.91 (increase by 181.5%) In two patients, inadequate hypertrophy mandated later embolization by percutaneous technique. Five patients underwent subsequent major hepatic resection as planned. The remaining four patients were noted to have progression of disease that precluded the planned procedure. There were no complications associated with LPVL. Conclusions. LPVL is feasible and can be safely performed. In a select group of patients, it may be considered as an alternative to subsequent embolization and thereby potentially absolve the need for an additional procedure with its attendant complications.

Evolution of laparoscopic surgery in a high volume hepatobiliary unit: 150 consecutive pure laparoscopic hepatectomies

Cirugia espanola, 2017

Compared to other surgical areas, laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) has not been widely implemented and currently less than 20% of hepatectomies are performed laparoscopically worldwide. The aim of our study was to evaluate the feasibility, and the ratio of implementation of LLR in our department. We analyzed a prospectively maintained database of 749 liver resections performed during the last 10-year period in a single centre. A total of 150 (20%) consecutive pure LLR were performed between 2005 and 2015. In 87% of patients the indication was the presence ofprimary or metastatic liver malignancy. We performed 30 major hepatectomies (20%) and (80%) were minor resections, performed in all liver segments. Twelve patients were operated twice and 2 patients underwent a third LLR. The proportion of LLR increased from 12% in 2011 to 62% in the last year. Conversion rate was 9%. Overall morbidity rate was 36% but only one third were classified as severe. The 90-day mortality rate was 1%. ...

Laparoscopic Liver Partition and Portal Vein Ligation for Staged Hepatectomy

CRSLS: MIS Case Reports from SLS, 2014

Introduction: Associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS) has recently been introduced as a feasible strategy that allows complete resection with curative intention in selected patients with otherwise locally unresectable disease due to an insufficient future liver remnant. Minimally invasive surgery has shown several benefits over the open approach in different surgical areas, including liver resections, over the past 2 decades. We report a case of a pure laparoscopic ALPPS. Case Description: A 73-year-old woman with a single hepatic metastasis from breast cancer was referred to our unit. She had been treated with radical left and right mastectomy 30 and 15 years before referral. Magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomographic computed tomography demonstrated a single hypermetabolic 68-mm tumor mass located in the right liver lobe without other systemic tumor dissemination. A laparoscopic right hepatectomy was scheduled, but due to unexpected tumor extension during surgical exploration and the need for a larger than planned liver resection, a pure laparoscopic ALPPS approach was performed. After a 41% future liver remnant hypertrophy, the patient underwent a laparoscopic completion surgery without any complications. She had a favorable recovery and was discharged on postoperative day 3. The histopathological analysis indicated multiple metastatic breast cancer with negative resection margins. Discussion and Conclusions: Pure laparoscopic ALPPS is feasible and may be performed safely in experienced hands. Minimally invasive access may represent a good alternative to reduce the surgical impact of the ALPPS approach in terms of postoperative recovery in selected patients.