Fifteen-year survival of a hepatocellular carcinoma extending into the right atrium treated by surgical resection with the heart-first approach under cardiopulmonary bypass: a case report and review of the literature.

Hepatocellular carcinoma with tumor thrombus in the inferior vena cava extending into the right atrium is rare and associated with poor prognosis in most cases. Although liver resection with thrombectomy is the only curative treatment, there is no consensus on the therapeutic options for managing these rare cases. The patient was a 67-year-old man with hepatocellular carcinoma with tumor thrombus in the right atrium. In February 2003, cavo-atrial thrombectomy was first performed using cardiopulmonary bypass with heparinization and cardiac arrest. After thrombectomy, right hepatectomy was performed. The total operative time was 10 h 48 min. Moreover, the total blood loss was 7267 mL. The patient recovered uneventfully except for right pleural effusion. He was cancer-free for approximately 9 years. A new lesion in the remnant liver was detected in March 2012. He underwent transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, followed by sequential administration of sorafenib and sunitinib. Radiation therapy was also administered. Eventually, the patient expired 6 years after recurrence. Cavo-atrial thrombectomy under cardiopulmonary bypass prior to hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma with tumor thrombus in the right atrium could be performed safely. Aggressive surgery with the heart-first approach and multidisciplinary treatments even after recurrence led to long-term survival.

The use of stents for duct-to-duct anastomoses of biliary reconstruction in orthotopic liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Biliary anastomotic complications remain a major cause of morbidity in liver transplant recipients. The objective of this retrospective study is to reassess the use of anastomotic stents for biliary reconstruction while focusing on an end-to-end choledochocholedochostomy (EECC) in orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). METHODOLOGY: EECC for the biliary reconstruction in OLT was performed in 115 patients. Sixty-three had their bile duct reconstructed over a T-tube stent (S group) while the remaining 52 patients underwent the same procedure without the stent (non-S group). The two groups were compared in terms of biliary complications and the conversion rate to a hepaticojejunostomy (HJS). RESULTS: Twenty-three biliary complications were observed in the OLT patients. In the S group, the incidence of a biliary leak was 12.7%, 8 of 63 patients in which 5 patients showed a bile leak when T tubes were removed. The rate of biliary stricture in the S group was 25.4%, or 16 patients. This stricture rate was not significantly different from the 13.5% rate observed in the non-S group (p=0.086). In the non-S group, 7 patients showed a biliary stricture. Four of 7 patients also developed a bile leak identified to be an anastomotic leak, which consequently resulted in HJS. A total of 6 patients, 5.2% of all OLT patients, underwent a subsequent revision of their primary anastomoses. The incidence of conversion from EECC to HJS in the non-S group, 57.1% was significantly higher than that in the S group, 12.5% (p=0.046). CONCLUSIONS: EECC (i.e. with or without a T-tube stent) is both a safe and effective technique for biliary reconstruction in OLT. However, the conversion rate from EECC to HJS in the non-S group was significantly higher than that in the S group. An indwelling T-tube stent is therefore considered to be useful for both achieving the lowest possible rate of severe anastomotic stricture and to prevent any subsequent intervention.

Barrett's adenocarcinoma associated with acquired eventration of the diaphragm.

We report a rare case of Barrett's adenocarcinoma asso-ciated with acquired eventration of the diaphragm in a 71-year-old woman. She initially developed dysphagia and epigastric discomfort in May, 1997. On July 9, she was referred to our Department of Surgery at the Ryukyus University Hospital for thorough examination and treatment. Esophageal adenocarcinoma and eventration of the diaphragm were revealed by exhaustive examinations, including chest X-ray, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging, and proximal gastrectomy with reconstruction of jejunal interposition was performed, on August 8. Histologically, the tumor revealed that the adenocarcinoma arose from short-segment Barrett's esophagus (SSBE). It thus appears that eventration of the diaphragm may induce SSBE and Barrett's adenocarcinoma. We therefore recommend that periodic examinations of the esophagus and stomach be performed in patients with eventration of the diaphragm. Barrett's adenocarcinoma associated with acquired eventration of the diaphragm is reported. Patients with eventration of the diaphragm should undergo periodic examinations of the esophagus and stomach.

Analysis of microsatellite instability, K-ras gene mutation and p53 protein overexpression in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Genetic alterations are considered to play an important role in both the carcinogenesis and biological behavior of human malignancies. However, the clinical implications of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma are poorly understood. We investigated the microsatellite instability, K-ras gene mutations and p53 protein overexpression and their correlation with clinicopathological features to elucidate the clinical implications of genetic alterations in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. METHODOLOGY: In twenty-three cases of surgically treated intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, microsatellite instability was examined by a PCR-SSCP analysis and K-ras gene mutation by a PCR-RFLP analysis, p53 protein overexpression by immunohistochemistry. We evaluated the correlation between genetic alterations and clinicopathological features. RESULTS: Microsatellite instability was observed in one case (4.7%), K-ras gene mutation in 9 (39.1%) and positive staining for p53 protein in 5 (21.7%). The incidence of K-ras gene mutations in hilar type intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (6 of 8, 75.0%) was significantly higher than that in peripheral type intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (3 of 15, 20.0%) (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the incidence of K-ras gene mutations in patients with lymph node metastasis (58.3%) tended to be higher than that in patients without lymph node metastasis (18.2%). The patients with K-ras gene mutations showed a statistically significant worse survival rate than those without such mutations (P < 0.05). No statistically significant correlations were observed between the p53 overexpression and clinicopathological features. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that K-ras gene mutations may be involved in the carcinogenesis of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, especially in hilar type intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, and thus may be correlated with aggressive biological behavior.

Long-term results after cholecystectomy alone for patients with pancreaticobiliary maljunction without bile duct dilatation.

A pancreaticobiliary maljunction (PB-MJ) without bile duct dilatation is relatively rare. The standard treatment for these patients remains controversial. In this study, we followed up the patients with PB-MJ without bile duct dilatation who mainly underwent a cholecystectomy alone. Eighteen adult patients with PB-MJ without bile duct dilatation (8 males and 10 females with a mean age of 54.8 years) were treated surgically. When the diameter of the common bile duct was less than 10 mm, such bile ducts were diagnosed to have no dilatation. The main clinical indications for surgery were cholecystolithiasis in 12 patients, choledocholithiasis in 3, cholecystocholedocholithiasis in 1, and carcinoma of the gallbladder in 2. The amylase levels of gallbladder bile in 14 patients ranged from 115 to 454,000 IU/ml. A simple cholecystectomy was performed in 12 patients, a cholecystectomy with bile duct drainage was performed in 3, a cholecystectomy with a choledochojejunostomy without bile duct resection was performed in 1, and a cholecystectomy with a lymph node dissection was performed in 2. Three patients died of other diseases. The remaining 15 patients have all been doing well for 20-209 months after surgery. In conclusion, a prophylactic resection of the extrahepatic bile duct and biliary diversion could be unnecessary for patients with PB-MJ without bile duct dilatation, when no bile stasis, such as choledocholithiasis, is observed.

Percutaneous sclerotherapy for intractable external biliary fistula after hepatectomy.

A 59-year-old man was diagnosed with cholangitis and a liver abscess caused by intrahepatic stones and underwent a hepatectomy of the left lobe and a side-to-side hepaticojejunostomy. After the operation, the patient developed an intractable external biliary fistula in the left remnant medial region. For the purpose of closing the fistula as a conservative treatment, an injection of 95% dehydrated ethanol was started after confirming the absence of any communication with the central bile duct; 1.5-5 ml was used for each injection, and the tube was clamped for 2 hours after injection. The excretion of bile juice decreased from the second injection, the excretion became serous, and the fistula completely closed after about 2 months without any particular complications. Percutaneous sclerotherapy by the injection of ethanol was found to be useful for closing a noncommunicating external biliary fistula.