Consensus conference statement on fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) ESSO course on fluorescence-guided surgery.

BACKGROUND: Fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) has emerged as an innovative technique with promising applications in various surgical specialties. However, clinical implementation is hampered by limited availability of evidence-based reference work supporting the translation towards standard-of-care use in surgical practice. Therefore, we developed a consensus statement on current applications of FGS. METHODS: During an international FGS course, participants anonymously voted on 36 statements. Consensus was defined as agreement ≥70% with participation grade of ≥80%. All participants of the questionnaire were stratified for user and handling experience within five domains of applicability (lymphatics & lymph node imaging; tissue perfusion; biliary anatomy and urinary tracts; tumor imaging in colorectal, HPB, and endocrine surgery, and quantification and (tumor-) targeted imaging). Results were pooled to determine consensus for each statement within the respective sections based on the degree of agreement. RESULTS: In total 43/52 (81%) course participants were eligible as voting members for consensus, comprising the expert panel (n = 12) and trained users (n = 31). Consensus was achieved in 17 out of 36 (45%) statements with highest level of agreement for application of FGS in tissue perfusion and biliary/urinary tract visualization (71% and 67%, respectively) and lowest within the tumor imaging section (0%). CONCLUSIONS: FGS is currently established for tissue perfusion and vital structure imaging. Lymphatics & lymph node imaging in breast cancer and melanoma are evolving, and tumor tissue imaging holds promise in early-phase trials. Quantification and (tumor-)targeted imaging are advancing toward clinical validation. Additional research is needed for tumor imaging due to a lack of consensus.

Near-infrared fluorescence-guided metastasectomy for hepatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor metastases using indocyanine green: A case report.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors are the most prevalent mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. Distant metastases are most often found in the liver or peritoneum with surgery being the preferred treatment option. In our center, fluorescence-guided surgery with indocyanine green is used as standard-of-care for hepatic metastases in colorectal cancer. This case report describes fluorescence-guided metastasectomy for a hepatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor in two patients undergoing open liver resection and radiofrequency ablation. CASE PRESENTATION: A 69-year old women was seen during follow-up after laparoscopic resection of a GIST in the lesser curvature of the stomach. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography imaging showed two suspicious lesions in liver segment VI and VIII. Intraoperative near-infrared fluorescence imaging of the liver clearly revealed the lesion in segment VIII, and an additional lesion in segment V - which was not seen on preoperative CT-imaging, neither on intraoperative ultrasonography. The lesion in segment VI was not seen with NIRF imaging due to its deeper location in the liver parenchyma. The second case is an 82-year old man who was also diagnosed with liver metastases from a GIST in the stomach and was scheduled for near-infrared fluorescence-guided liver resection and radio frequency ablation. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: In this case report we demonstrated the feasibility of fluorescence-guided surgery in detection of liver metastases and treatment planning of two patients with hepatic GIST metastases using indocyanine green. CONCLUSION: NIRF-imaging with ICG is useful for identification of preoperatively discovered lesions, surgical resection planning and margin evaluation, and for detection of additional hepatic GIST metastases.