Alternative Surgical Policy for Central Liver Tumors

Major hepatectomies have not negligible morbidity and mortality. However, when tumors invade middle hepatic vein (MHV) at caval confluence major surgery is usually recommended. Ultrasound-guided hepatectomy might allow conservative approaches. We prospectively check its feasibility in a series of patients carriers of tumors invading the MHV at the caval confluence.

Major hepatectomies have not negligible morbidity and mortality. However, when tumors invade middle hepatic vein (MHV) at caval confluence trisectionectomy (TS) is generally performed, and central hepatectomy or mesohepatectomy (MH) (Segments 4, 5 and 8), is considered by some authors to be the conservative alternative to the previously cited approach. Between these two surgical interventions there is not, up to now, any evidence that one of them should be clearly preferred; anyway both are mojor resections. We previously reported that a surgical approach based on ultrasound-guided hepatectomy might minimize the need for major resection, whose rates of morbidity and mortality are not negligible. This policy could be useful also for disclosing new, more conservative, and better tolerated approaches for tumors invading the MHV at caval confluence in alternative to MH and TS. This study analyses the feasibility, safety and effectiveness of ultrasound-guided resections applied to these patients enrolled prospectively from a cohort of consecutive patients who undergo hepatectomy for tumors.

Patients carriers of hepatocellular carcinoma or colorectal cancer liver metastases addressed to surgical resection

• Colorectal Liver Metastases
• Hepatocellular Carcinoma

• Torzilli G, Montorsi M, Del Fabbro D, Palmisano A, Donadon M, Makuuchi M. Ultrasonographically guided surgical approach to liver tumours involving the hepatic veins close to the caval confluence. Br J Surg. 2006 Oct;93(10):1238-46.
• Torzilli G, Montorsi M, Donadon M, Palmisano A, Del Fabbro D, Gambetti A, Olivari N, Makuuchi M. "Radical but conservative" is the main goal for ultrasonography-guided liver resection: prospective validation of this approach. J Am Coll Surg. 2005 Oct;201(4):517-28.
• Stratopoulos C, Soonawalla Z, Brockmann J, Hoffmann K, Friend PJ. Central hepatectomy: the golden mean for treating central liver tumors? Surg Oncol. 2007 Aug;16(2):99-106. Epub 2007 Jun 20. Review.
• Torzilli G, Palmisano A, Procopio F, Cimino M, Botea F, Donadon M, Del Fabbro D, Montorsi M. A new systematic small for size resection for liver tumors invading the middle hepatic vein at its caval confluence: mini-mesohepatectomy. Ann Surg. 2010 Jan;251(1):33-9.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients carriers of HCC or colorectal cancer liver metastases (CLM) who have macroscopic signs of vascular invasion (preoperative imaging and/IOUS) of the MHV close to the hepato-caval confluence (within 4 cm) demanding for that MHV resection.

Minimum follow-up for patients' inclusion was established at 6-months from surgery.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients carriers of tumors occupying entirely the right paramedian section and the segment 4, for whom at least a MH would have been compulsorily carried out.