in vivo 35: 1191-1195 (2021)
doi:10.21873/invivo.12368
Left Hepatectomy Through Double Approach and Total
Vascular Exclusion for Giant Left Lobe Hepatocarcinoma
NICOLAE BACALBASA1,2, IRINA BALESCU3, SIMONA DIMA2, LUCIAN ALECU4 and IRINEL POPESCU5,6
1Department
of Obstetrics and Gynecology, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania;
2Department of Visceral Surgery, Center of Excellence in Translational Medicine,
“Fundeni” Clinical Institute, Bucharest, Romania;
3Department of Visceral Surgery, “Ponderas Academic Hospital”, Bucharest, Romania;
4The General Surgery Clinic, the Emergency Clinical Hospital “Prof. Dr. Agrippa Ionescu”, Bucharest, Romania;
5Department of Visceral Surgery, “Fundeni” Clinical Institute, Bucharest, Romania;
6“Titu Maiorescu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania
Abstract. Background/Aim: Hepatocellular carcinoma
represents the most frequently encountered liver malignancy
worldwide; however the dimensions of these lesions rarely
surpass 20 cm. In such cases surgical treatment might
encounter significant technical difficulties. Case Report: We
present the case of a 49-year-old patient diagnosed with a
22/25/21 cm left lobe hepatocellular carcinoma. Results: In
order to achieve a safe and effective resection total vascular
exclusion was needed. Moreover, due to the anatomical
relationship between the tumor and the cava vein, an
intrathoracic approach of the inferior cava vein was the
option of choice. The time of total vascular exclusion was of
26 minutes while the length of surgery was of 210 minutes;
meanwhile the estimated blood loss was of 650 ml, while the
postoperative outcome was uncomplicated. Conclusion: Total
vascular exclusion by double approach might be a safe
alternative in order to minimize the risks of severe
intraoperative and postoperative complications.
Hepatocellular carcinoma represents the most common
malignant tumor affecting the liver, being more frequently
encountered in men then in women; therefore, it represents
the fifth most common neoplastic disease in male patients
and the seventh most commonly encountered neoplasia in
female patients (1, 2). Whenever hepatocellular carcinoma is
This article is freely accessible online.
Correspondence to: Irina Balescu, “Ponderas” Academic Hospital,
Nicolae Caramfil 85a Street, Bucharest, Romania. Tel: +40
724077709, e-mail: irina.balescu@ponderas-ah.ro
Key Words: Hepatocellular carcinoma, resection, vascular exclusion,
liver tumor.
suspected, the first intention treatment which should be taken
in consideration is the surgical one; however, the decision of
submitting to surgery such patients is taken after meticulous
analysis of each case. Not only the dimension of the tumor,
but also the liver function and association of other
comorbidities represent significant criteria that should be
carefully analysed (3, 4).
Case Report
After obtaining the approval of the Ethical Committee no
312/2020, data of the patient were reviewed and presented
in the current paper. The 49 year old patient with good
general condition self-presented for diffuse abdominal pain,
nausea and weight loss. The anamnesis revealed no
significant medical antecedents; the patient had been
submitted to appendectomy at the age of 15 and presented
no history of hepatitis or other chronic viral infection, no
previous exposure to toxic agents and denied chronic alcohol
consumption. Meanwhile no significant family history of
malignant diseases was revealed.
Results
The 49-year-old patient with no significant medical
antecedents was initially investigated for diffuse abdominal
pain, nausea and weight loss of 15 kg in the last 6 months.
The patient was submitted to an abdominal ultrasound which
revealed the presence of a large hepatic mass located at the
level of the left hepatic lobe measuring 22/25/21 cm while
the remnant parenchyma presented normal aspect.
The patient was further submitted to a computed
tomography which confirmed the presence of this large
hepatic tumor entirely deforming the left lobe, with no other
suspect nodules at the level of the remnant parenchyma.
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in vivo 35: 1191-1195 (2021)
Meanwhile, no other pathological aspects were observed;
however, the patient was further submitted to upper and
lower digestive endoscopy in order to exclude the metastatic
origin of the lesion but no lesion was found. The serological
tests for hepatitis demonstrated the absence of viral
infections while the serum levels of tumoral markers
demonstrated the presence of a high level of alpha
fetoprotein (AFP) as well as an increased level of serum
carcinoembrionic antigen (CEA); therefore the serum levels
of AFP were 734 ng/ml while the serum levels of CEA were
598 ng/ml. Due to the fact that the imaging studies
demonstrated the presence of a very well developed
vascularization of the tumor preoperative biopsy was not
performed, the patient being submitted to surgery.
Intraoperatively, due to the local anatomical conditions –
giant tumor, very well developed vascular network – total
vascular exclusion was needed; therefore the abdominal
incision was prolonged at the level of the thorax and the
diaphragm was sectioned in order to achieve an adequate
approach of the suprahepatic cava vein. In these conditions
total vascular exclusion by clamping the portal pedicle, the
suprahepatic veins and the intrathoracic cava vein were
performed. Once this manoeuvre was completed, the left
lobe was completely mobilized and atypical left hepatectomy
was performed with no intraoperative incidents (Figures 1,
2, 3, 4 and 5). The total time of complete vascular exclusion
was 26 minutes while the length of surgery was 210 minutes;
meanwhile the estimated blood loss was of 650 ml, the
patient being transfused with one unit of erithrocitic mass.
The histopathological studies demonstrated the presence of
a 24/22/21 cm well differentiated hepatocarcinoma.
Figure 1. Initial intraoperative aspect – large tumor located at the level
of the left hemiliver; in order to have a better access on the inferior
cava vein the abdominal incision was prolonged at the level of the
thorax.
Discussion
According to their dimensions, liver tumors are classified as
small (<5 cm), big (5-10 cm) and giant (>10 cm);
meanwhile, tumors larger than 20 cm are extremely rare (5,
6). In such conditions the treatment of choice remains
surgery, especially in otherwise healthy patients presenting
no other significant comorbidities (7); however, the surgical
technique should be adapted in each case due the anatomical
particularities of each case and due to the high risks of
developing intra- and postoperative life threatening
complications such as fulminant, uncontrollable
intraoperative haemorrhage or postoperative acute liver
dysfunction due to the low remnant volume of functional
parenchyma (9-13). Therefore, in order to prevent the
development of an intractable intraoperative bleeding, in the
case we presented a total vascular exclusion was the option
of choice; moreover, an intrathoracic control of the inferior
cava vein was preferred due to the extent of the lesion. As
for the risk of postoperative acute liver failure, this
complication was prevented in our case due to the presence
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Figure 2. The aspect after complete vascular exclusion and mobilization
of the tumor. Preparing the transection of the liver parenchyma.
of a perfectly normal function of the right lobe, fact which
was also demonstrated by the presence of preoperative
normal serum levels of liver enzymes (6, 8).
In order to minimize the risks of perioperative
complications in patients submitted to surgery for such a
complex pathology, different study groups such as Barcelona
Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC), American/European
Association for the Study of Liver Diseases created different
staging and stratification systems aiming to identify cases
which could benefit most after surgery (3, 4). Therefore, the
most important factors that should be taken in consideration
Bacalbasa et al: Left Hepatectomy Through Double Approach and Total Vascular Exclusion
Figure 3. The final aspect after typical left hepatectomy, before suturing
the diaphragm.
before deciding to perform an extended liver resection for
large hepatocellular carcinomas are represented by the
performance status, the functionality of the remnant liver, the
presence of underlying liver disease (characterised by the
presence and degree of portal hypertension), stage of disease
and feasibility of complete and safe resection (14).
When it comes to the most severe complications which
might develop intraoperatively, particular attention should be
paid to the risk of perioperative bleeding. Therefore, it is
widely known the fact that intraoperative bleeding and blood
transfusions seem to negatively impact on the long-term
outcomes, being related with a higher rate of local
recurrences and lower rates of disease-free survival (15-17).
In this respect, in order to minimize the intraoperative
bleeding rate and the necessity of blood transfusion various
technical approaches have been proposed, Pringle maneuver,
selective, hemiselective or total vascular exclusion being the
most commonly investigated surgical techniques (18).
Initially imagined by J. H. Pringle in 1908, the maneuver
with the same name has been widely used initially in order
to reduce the intraoperative blood loss and to diminish the
necessity of intraoperative transfusions (19, 20). However,
the method seems to have certain disadvantages such as the
one of inducing warm ischemia and ischemia reperfusion
lesions (21). This fact seems to be correlated with the
development of transient increase of the transaminases
during the early postoperative period but also with a higher
risk of developing liver recurrences. Therefore, it seems that
prolongation of the time of warm ischemia might induce
local hypoxia and increased cytokine activity increasing in
this way the rate of proliferation of hepatic cells and the risk
of postoperative recurrence; in this respect decreased
Figure 4. The specimen – the left lobe is entirely transformed and
included in the tumorl mass.
Figure 5. Transected specimen measuring 24/22/21 cm. The
histopathological studies demonstrated the presence of a well
differentiated hepatocarcinoma.
recurrence-free survival intervals have been reported in cases
submitted to longer times of liver induced ischemia (22-24).
One of the most suggestive studies which stated this aspect
was conducted by Liu et al. and demonstrated that
application of Pringle manoeuvre in excess of 15 minutes
was significantly correlated with the rates of local tumor
recurrence; this phenomenon was explained by the authors
through the fact that prolonged ischemia time increases the
vulnerability of the residual liver to delayed damage by
activating cells signals for local invasion and distant
migration (23). Meanwhile, one should not omit the fact that
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in vivo 35: 1191-1195 (2021)
Pringle manoeuvre controls the inflow at the level of the
liver pedicle, without influencing the backflow from the
hepatic veins; therefore, close monitoring of the suprahepatic
veins is also mandatory if complex resections are taken into
consideration. Moreover, in cases presenting large tumoral
volumes developed in the close proximity of the hepatic
veins and of the inferior cava vein particular attention should
be paid when approaching these structures due to the fact
that a rupture at this level might lead to development of a
severe air embolism and, secondarily, to cardio-pulmonary
collapse (26-29). In such conditions in order to prevent
haemorrhagic or embolic accidents, attentive dissection of
the hepatic veins and cava vein are needed in order to
achieve a good control before initiating the resection phase;
moreover, in certain cases intrathoracic approach of the cava
vein might be needed in order to preserve the oncological
safety of the resection (30). In this respect, in the case we
came to present a double abdominal and thoracic approach
was the option of choice in order to avoid any dilacerations
of the venous structures and meanwhile, not to preclude the
oncological safety of the procedure.
Conclusion
Total vascular exclusion by using a double approach
(thoracic and abdominal approach) might be useful in order
to increase the safety and effectiveness of typical hepatic
resections for giant hepatocellular carcinoma. Therefore,
such combined approach seems to decrease the risks of
intraoperative accidents and improve the perioperative
outcomes. However, one should not omit the fact that
prolongation of the time of warm ischemia might have a
negative impact on the long-term outcomes; therefore, this
time should be shortened as much as possible, without
precluding the safety of the procedure.
Conflicts of Interest
The Authors have no conflicts of interest to declare regarding this
study.
Authors’ Contributions
NB, SD and IP performed the surgical procedure; NB, LA and IB
reviewed literature data and prepared the draft of the manuscript; IP
reviewed the final version of the manuscript. The Authors read and
approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Received November 3, 2020
Revised December 14, 2020
Accepted December 16, 2020
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