Laparoscopic Hepatectomy: Current State in Japan Based on the 4th Nationwide Questionnaire. Gastroenterol Res Pract. 2017;2017:6868745. [PMID: 28386272 PMCID: PMC5366230 DOI: 10.1155/2017/6868745]

Pan-European survey on the implementation of robotic and laparoscopic minimally invasive liver surgery

BACKGROUND

Laparoscopic and robotic minimally invasive liver surgery (MILS) is gaining popularity. Recent data and views on the implementation of laparoscopic and robotic MILS throughout Europe are lacking.

METHODS

An anonymous survey consisting of 46 questions was sent to all members of the European-African Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association.

RESULTS

The survey was completed by 120 surgeons from 103 centers in 24 countries. Median annual center volume of liver resection was 100 [IQR 50-140]. The median annual volume of MILS per center was 30 [IQR 16-40]. For minor resections, laparoscopic MILS was used by 80 (67%) surgeons and robotic MILS by 35 (29%) surgeons. For major resections, laparoscopic MILS was used by 74 (62%) surgeons and robotic MILS by 33 (28%) surgeons. The majority of the surgeons stated that minimum annual volume of MILS per center should be around 21-30 procedures/year. Of the surgeons performing robotic surgery, 28 (70%) felt they missed specific equipment, such as a robotic-CUSA. Seventy (66%) surgeons provided a formal MILS training to residents and fellows. In 5 years' time, 106 (88%) surgeons felt that MILS would have superior value as compared to open liver surgery.

CONCLUSION

In the participating European liver centers, MILS comprised about one third of all liver resections and is expected to increase further. Laparoscopic MILS is still twice as common as robotic MILS. Development of specific instruments for robotic liver parenchymal transection might further increase its adoption.

Minimally Invasive Liver Surgery: A Snapshot from a Major Dutch HPB and Transplant Center

BACKGROUND

Minimally invasive liver surgery (MILS) has been progressively adopted on a nationwide scale. The aim of this study is to investigate MILS implementation in a high-volume Dutch hepato-pancreato-biliary and transplant center, which is considered a moderate to low-volume center from a European standpoint.

METHODS

All patients who underwent MILS at Erasmus Medical Center between April 2010 and December 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients' surgical outcomes were compared after stratification according to resections' difficulty and liver cirrhosis.

RESULTS

A total of 212 cases were included. Major liver resections were performed in 24 patients (11%), while minor resections were performed in 188 patients (89%). Among those, 177 (94%) resections were classified as technically minor and 11 (6%) as technically major. Major morbidity was reported in 14/177 patients (8%) after technically minor resections and in 3/24 patients (13%) after major resections. Anatomically and technically major resections had higher intraoperative blood losses (425 (0-2100) vs. 240 (50-110) vs. 100 (0-2400) mL; p-value < 0.001) and longer hospital stay (6 (3-25) vs. 5 (2-9) vs. 3 (1-44); p-value < 0.001) when compared with the technically minor counterpart. Perioperative outcomes were similar when comparing cirrhotic MILS with the non-cirrhotic cohort.

CONCLUSION

MILS program implementation can lead to encouraging surgical outcomes even in low- to moderate-volume centers. Although low procedural volume might be predictive of impaired outcomes, long-standing experience in the HPB and liver transplant field could mitigate low-case volume effects on surgical outcomes.

Multicentre evaluation of case volume in minimally invasive hepatectomy

BACKGROUND

Surgical outcomes may be associated with hospital volume and the influence of volume on minimally invasive liver surgery (MILS) is not known.

METHODS

Patients entered into the prospective registry of the Italian Group of MILS from 2014 to 2018 were considered. Only centres with an accrual period of at least 12 months and stable MILS activity during the enrolment period were included. Case volume was defined by the mean number of minimally invasive liver resections performed per month (MILS/month).

RESULTS

A total of 2225 MILS operations were undertaken by 46 centres; nine centres performed more than two MILS/month (1376 patients) and 37 centres carried out two or fewer MILS/month (849 patients). The proportion of resections of anterolateral segments decreased with case volume, whereas that of major hepatectomies increased. Left lateral sectionectomies and resections of anterolateral segments had similar outcome in the two groups. Resections of posterosuperior segments and major hepatectomies had higher overall and severe morbidity rates in centres performing two or fewer MILS/month than in those undertaking a larger number (posterosuperior segments resections: overall morbidity 30·4 versus 18·7 per cent respectively, and severe morbidity 9·9 versus 4·0 per cent; left hepatectomy: 46 versus 22 per cent, and 19 versus 5 per cent; right hepatectomy: 42 versus 34 per cent, and 25 versus 15 per cent).

CONCLUSION

A volume-outcome association existed for minimally invasive hepatectomy. Complex and major resections may be best managed in high-volume centres.

Implementation and outcome of minor and major minimally invasive liver surgery in the Netherlands

BACKGROUND

While most of the evidence on minimally invasive liver surgery (MILS) is derived from expert centers, nationwide outcomes remain underreported. This study aimed to evaluate the implementation and outcome of MILS on a nationwide scale.

METHODS

Electronic patient files were reviewed in all Dutch liver surgery centers and all patients undergoing MILS between 2011 and 2016 were selected. Operative outcomes were stratified based on extent of the resection and annual MILS volume.

RESULTS

Overall, 6951 liver resections were included, with a median annual volume of 50 resections per center. The overall use of MILS was 13% (n = 916), which varied from 3% to 36% (P < 0.001) between centers. The nationwide use of MILS increased from 6% in 2011 to 23% in 2016 (P < 0.001). Outcomes of minor MILS were comparable with international studies (conversion 0-13%, mortality <1%). In centers which performed ≥20 MILS annually, major MILS was associated with less conversions (14 (11%) versus 41 (30%), P < 0.001), shorter operating time (184 (117-239) versus 200 (139-308) minutes, P = 0.010), and less overall complications (37 (30%) versus 58 (42%), P = 0.040).

CONCLUSION

The nationwide use of MILS is increasing, although large variation remains between centers. Outcomes of major MILS are better in centers with higher volumes.

Surgical outcomes of hand-assisted laparoscopic liver resection vs. open liver resection: A retrospective propensity score-matched cohort study

Objective

Hand-assisted laparoscopic liver resection has the advantages of open and laparoscopic surgeries. There is still lack of comparison of surgical outcomes between hand-assistied laparoscopic liver resection (HALLR) and open liver resection (OLR). This study compared the surgical outcomes of the two approaches between well-matched patient cohorts.

Methods

Patients who received liver resection during January 2014 and October 2017 in Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College were included in this retrospective study. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to reduce selection bias between the two groups. Operation and short-term surgical outcomes were compared between the well matched groups.

Results

During this period, 232 patients with a median age of 55.1 years old received OLR, while 49 patients with a median age of 54.7 years old received HALLR. Compared with HALLR group, OLR group has a higher proportion in male patients (190/232, 81.9% vs. 34/49, 69.4%, P=0.048) and lower albumin (43.2±4.5 vs. 44.8±3.7, P=0.020). After PSM, 49 patients from each group were included in the following analysis. Two groups were well balanced in their baseline characteristics, liver functions, preoperative treatments, abdominal surgery history, and surgical difficulty. None perioperative mortality was observed in both groups. Operation time and postoperative complications were similar in two groups (P=0.935, P=0.056). The HALLR group showed less bleeding amount (177.8±217.1 mL vs. 283.1±225.0 mL, P=0.003) and shorter postoperative stay period (6.9±2.2 d vs. 9.0±3.5 d, P=0.001).

Conclusions

We demonstrated that hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery is feasible and safe for liver resection, including some difficult cases. HALLR can provide better bleeding control and faster recovery after surgery.

[Technical aspects of laparoscopic liver surgery : Transfer from open to laparoscopic liver surgery]

BACKGROUND

Laparoscopic surgery has become the standard for most visceral surgery procedures in many hospitals. Now, liver resections are also being increasingly carried out laparoscopically. The advantages of the laparoscopic technique have been demonstrated in numerous case series and in a recent randomized controlled trial.

AIMS

The aim of this review article is to present the available techniques for laparoscopic liver surgery (LLS).

METHODS

The technical variations reported in the literature as well as the own experience with LLS are reported.

RESULTS

Optimal patient and trocar positions are crucial for successful LLS and they are chosen according to the planned type of liver surgery: the literature offers several options in particular for surgery of the cranial and dorsal liver segments. As for open liver surgery, a restrictive volume management and the application of the Pringle maneuver are helpful to reduce intraoperative blood loss in LLS. In addition, several dissection techniques have been adopted from open liver surgery. The Cavitron Ultrasound Surgical Aspirator (CUSA™) is particularly suitable for parenchymal dissection close to major vascular structures, since it guarantees a meticulous parenchymal dissection with minimal vascular injuries.

CONCLUSION

The developments of minimally invasive surgery nowadays allow complex liver resections, which can mostly be performed comparable to open liver surgery. Hopefully, minimally invasive liver surgery will further develop in Germany in the near future, since it offers several advantages over open liver surgery.

Review of the literature laparoscopic surgery for metastatic hepatic leiomyosarcoma associated with smooth muscle tumor of uncertain malignant potential: Case report

Metastatic hepatic leiomyosarcoma is a rare malignant smooth muscle tumor. We report a case of metastatic hepatic leiomyosarcoma associated with smooth muscle tumor of uncertain malignant potential (STUMP). A 68-year-old female presented with a liver mass (60 mm × 40 mm, Segment 4). She underwent left salpingo-oophorectomy for an ovary tumor with STUMP in a broad ligament 6 years ago. Though FDG-PET showed obvious metabolically active foci, abnormal metabolically active foci other than the lesion were not detected. A malignant liver tumor was strongly suspected and laparoscopic partial liver resection was performed with vessel-sealing devices using the crush clamping method and Pringle maneuver. Immunohistochemical findings revealed metastatic liver leiomyosarcoma associated with STUMP in a broad ligament. This case is an extremely rare case of malignant transformation from primary STUMP to metastatic hepatic leiomyosarcoma. It provides important evidence regarding the treatment for metastatic hepatic leiomyosarcoma associated with STUMP.