Ruptured idiopathic hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm causing portal vein thrombosis with portal hypertension and variceal bleeding

Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is an important cause of noncirrhotic portal hypertension. Noncancerous extrinsic compression of portal vein to drive PVT formation is rare, but important to identify. A 64-year-old female with idiopathic hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm (HAPA) rupture 7 months prior presented with acute-onset hematemesis and melena and was found to have prehepatic portal hypertensive variceal bleeding. Her HAPA-related retroperitoneal hematoma had resulted in portal vein compression, thrombosis, and cavernous transformation despite prompt stent graft placement across the ruptured HAPA, and required definitive treatment by transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt creation with portal vein reconstruction utilizing a trans-splenic access. This case highlights the importance of interval abdominal imaging and hypercoagulability screening for noncirrhotic patients at-risk for PVT, which identified the patient as a heterozygous carrier of Factor V Leiden.

Response and Overall Survival for Yttrium-90 Radioembolization of Hepatic Sarcoma: A Multicenter Retrospective Study

PURPOSE

To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of yttrium-90 transarterial radioembolization (TARE) for the treatment of primary and metastatic soft tissue sarcoma (STS) of the liver.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A retrospective review of 39 patients with primary (n = 2) and metastatic (n = 37) hepatic STS treated with TARE at 4 institutions was performed. Fourteen STS subtypes were included, with leiomyosarcoma being the most common (51%). TARE with glass (22 patients) or resin (17 patients) microspheres was performed, with single lobe (17 patients) or bilobar treatment (22 patients) based on disease burden. Adverse events of treatment, overall survival (OS), and tumor response at 3, 6, and 12 months after TARE were assessed per the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors.

RESULTS

Fourteen patients demonstrated either partial or complete response to therapy, with an objective response rate of 36%. Thirty patients (77%) demonstrated disease control (DC)-either stable disease or response to treatment. Median OS was 30 months (95% confidence interval 12-43 months) for all patients. DC at 3 months was associated with an increased median OS (44 months) compared with progressive disease (PD) (7.5 months; P < .0001). Patients with DC at 6 months also demonstrated an increased median OS (38 months) compared to patients with PD (17 months; P = .0443). Substantial adverse events included 1 liver abscess, 1 gastric ulceration, and 1 pneumonitis.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with hepatic STS treated with TARE demonstrated a high rate of DC and a median OS of 30 months, which suggests a role for TARE in the palliation of hepatic STS.