Prognostic benefit of preoperative transarterial chemoembolization in upfront resectable large hepatocellular carcinoma: a multicentric propensity score based analysis of European high-volume centers.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have a dismal prognosis and any effective neoadjuvant treatment has been validated to date. We aimed to investigate the role of neoadjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in upfront resectable HCC larger than 5 cm. METHODS: This is a multicentric retrospective study comparing outcomes of large HCC undergoing TACE followed by surgery or liver resection alone before and after propensity-score matching (PSM). RESULTS: A total of 384 patients were included of whom 60 (15.6%) received TACE. This group did not differ from upfront resected cases neither in terms of disease-free survival (p = 0.246) nor in overall survival (p = 0.276). After PSM, TACE still did not influence long-term outcomes (p = 0.935 and p = 0.172, for DFS and OS respectively). In subgroup analysis, TACE improved OS only in HCC ≥10 cm (p = 0.045), with a borderline significance after portal vein embolization/ligation (p = 0.087) and in single HCC (p = 0.052). CONCLUSIONS: TACE should not be systematically performed in all resectable large HCC. Selected cases could however potentially benefit from this procedure, as patients with huge and single tumors or those necessitating of a PVE.

European validation of the classification for the anticipated difficulty of liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Appropriate risk stratification for the difficulty of liver transplantation (LT) is essential to guide the selection and acceptance of grafts and avoid morbidity and mortality. METHODS: Based on 987 LTs collected from 5 centers, perioperative outcomes were analyzed across the 3 difficulty levels. Each LT was retrospectively scored from 0 to 10. Scores of 0-2, 3-5 and 6-10 were then translated into respective difficulty levels: low, moderate and high. Complications were reported according to the comprehensive complication index (CCI). RESULTS: The difficulty level of LT in 524 (53%), 323 (32%), and 140 (14%) patients was classified as low, moderate and high, respectively. The values of major intraoperative outcomes, such as cold ischemia time (p = 0.04) and operative time (p < 0.0001) increased gradually with statistically significant values among difficulty levels. There was a corresponding increase in CCI (p = 0.04), severe complication rates (p = 0.05) and length of ICU (p = 0.01) and hospital (p = 0.004) stays across the different difficulty levels. CONCLUSION: The LT difficulty classification has been validated.

Assessment of Segmentary Hypertrophy of Future Remnant Liver after Liver Venous Deprivation: A Single-Center Study.

Background: Liver venous deprivation (LVD) is a recent radiological technique that has shown promising results on Future Remnant Liver (FRL) hypertrophy. The aim of this retrospective study is to compare the segmentary hypertrophy of the FRL after LVD and after portal vein embolization (PVE). Methods: Patients undergoing PVE or LVD between April 2015 and April 2020 were included. The segmentary volumes (seg 4, seg2+3 and seg1) were assessed before and after the radiological procedure. Results: Forty-four patients were included: 26 undergoing PVE, 10 LVD and 8 eLVD. Volume gain of both segment 1 and segments 2+3 was significantly higher after LVD and eLVD than after PVE (segment 1: 27.33 ± 35.37 after PVE vs. 38.73% ± 13.47 after LVD and 79.13% ± 41.23 after eLVD, p = 0.0080; segments 2+3: 40.73% ± 40.53 after PVE vs. 45.02% ± 21.53 after LVD and 85.49% ± 45.51 after eLVD, p = 0.0137), while this was not true for segment 4. FRL hypertrophy was confirmed to be higher after LVD and eLVD than after PVE (33.53% ± 21.22 vs. 68.63% ± 42.03 vs. 28.11% ± 28.33, respectively, p = 0.0280). Conclusions: LVD and eLVD may induce greater hypertrophy of segment 1 and segments 2+3 when compared to PVE.

Gastrointestinal perforation in liver transplantation recipients: risk factors analysis from a 10-year retrospective study with an international multicenter survey about management strategies.

Risk factors for gastrointestinal (GI) perforations in adult liver transplantation (LT) recipients have never been deeply investigated, as well as their management. The aim of this study is to report a single-center 10 years' experience about GI perforations after LT, focusing on risk factors and management strategies according to an international survey involving expert transplant surgeons. Data regarding all consecutive patients undergoing liver transplantations from January 2009 until December 2019 in a single institution were retrospectively collected. Risk factors for GI perforation were investigated. A web survey about the management of gastrointestinal perforations was conducted among worldwide transplantation centers. On 699 adult liver transplantations performed in our center, 20 cases of GI perforations were found, with an incidence of 2.8%. A previous abdominal surgery was found to be the only risk factor (p = 0.01). Ninety-day mortality was 75%. According to the survey, a more conservative treatment was suggested in case of gastric and duodenal perforations (consisting in a direct suture or an external drain), while a more aggressive treatment was adopted for ileal or colic perforation (stoma with or without resection). The W value for inter-personal agreement was 0.41. Despite rare, GI perforations in LT recipients can represent a life-threatening complication. Surgical management can be challenging and depends on both the site of perforation and the clinical conditions of the patient.

Incisional hernia repair after kidney transplantation in a tertiary high-volume center: outcomes from a 10-year retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Incisional hernia (IH) after Kidney Transplantation (KT) is a challenging complication due to both technical reasons and patients' complexity. Data regarding outcomes of hernia repair in KT recipients are uncertain, since the biggest part of previous papers focused on risk factors for incisional hernia occurrence and not on its outcomes. Aim of the study was to focus on risk factors for incisional hernia recurrence after surgical repair in KT recipients. METHODS: Data regarding all consecutive patients undergoing kidney transplantations from January 2011 until September 2020 in Montpellier University Hospital were retrospectively collected from a single institutional database. RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 48 months (IQR25-75 31-59), data from 1546 consecutive KT were collected. 83 patients underwent 99 incisional hernia surgeries after KT, with 14 patients that had one recurrence (14.4%) and 2 patients that experienced two recurrences (2.4%). Total recurrence rate was 16.8%. At univariate analysis, the only factor associated with an incisional hernia recurrence was having undergone to at least one previous abdominal surgery other than KT (p value 0.002). Overall morbidity was 15% (n = 15), with most of complications classified as mild (59%). No mortality related to incisional hernia repair occurred. CONCLUSION: IHs after KT represent an important condition. Its surgical management is challenging due to its anatomical complexity and patient's status. This is the largest sample size in the literature of patients treated for IH after KT and it shows that a previous surgery other than the KT is a risk factor for hernia recurrence after surgical repair, without regarding surgical technique or other comorbidity and therapeutical factors.

Prolonged Survival after Recurrence in HCC Resected Patients Using Repeated Curative Therapies: Never Give Up!

Surgical resection is the optimal treatment for HCC, despite a high risk of recurrence. Few data are available on patient's survival after resection. This is a retrospective study of tumor recurrence occurring after hepatectomy for HCC from 2000 to 2016. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify prognostic factors of survival after recurrence (SAR). Among 387 patients, 226 recurred (58.4%) with a median SAR of 26 months. Curative treatments (liver transplantation, repeat hepatectomy, thermal ablation) were performed for 44.7% of patients. Independent prognostic factors for SAR were micro-vascular invasion on the primary surgical specimen, size of the initial tumor >5 cm, preoperative AFP, albumin and platelet levels, male gender, number, size and localization of tumors at recurrence, time to recurrence, Child−Pugh score and treatment at recurrence. In subgroup analysis, early recurrence (46%) was associated with a decrease in SAR, by contrast with late recurrence. However, the overall survival (OS) of patients with early recurrence and curative treatment did not significantly differ from that of non-recurring patients. For late recurrence, OS did not significantly differ from that of non-recurring patients, regardless of the proposed treatment. Aggressive and repeat treatments are therefore key to improve prognosis of patients with HCC.

Morbidity and mortality of iatrogenic hemothorax occurring in a cohort of liver transplantation recipients: a multicenter observational study.

Hemothorax (HT) is a life-threatening condition, mainly iatrogenic and poorly explored in Liver Transplantation (LT) recipients. The aim of this study is to report and analyze for the first time incidence and outcomes of HT in LT recipients, as well as to suggest a management strategy. Data concerning 7130 consecutive adult liver and liver-kidney transplant recipients were retrospectively collected from ten Transplantation Centers' institutional databases, over a 10-year period. Clinical parameters, management strategies and survival data about post-operative HT were analyzed and reported. Thirty patients developed HT during hospitalization (0.42%). Thoracentesis was found to be the most common cause of HT (16 patients). A non-surgical management was performed in 17 patients, while 13 patients underwent surgery. 19 patients developed thoracic complications after HT treatment, with an overall mortality rate of 50%. The median length of stay in Intensive Care Units was 22 days (IQR25-75 5-66.5). Postoperative hemothorax is mainly due to iatrogenic causes in LT recipients. Despite rare, it represents a serious complication with a high mortality rate and a challenging medical and surgical management. Its occurrence should always be prevented.