Anatomía quirúrgica aplicada a abordajes transperitoneales de la aorta abdominal y los troncos viscerales. Artículo dinámico / Surgical anatomy applied to transperitoneal approaches of the abdominal aorta and visceral trunks. Dynamic article

Los cirujanos cardiovasculares y del aparato digestivo deberían estar al corriente de las múltiples alternativas de abordaje de la aorta abdominal y sus troncos viscerales. Artículo narrativo, ilustrado y dinámico de las diferentes maniobras quirúrgicas descritas con este objetivo. Disección de 5 cadáveres realizadas durante tres cursos nacionales de Anatomía Quirúrgica aplicada a aorta integral, Cirugía hepatobiliopancreática y Cirugía abdominal digestiva. Maniobras quirúrgicas descritas: abordaje aórtico inframesocólico longitudinal, abordaje aórtico supracelíaco, abordaje del tronco celíaco, tres tipos de abordaje de la arteria mesentérica superior: retroperitoneal tras maniobra de Kocher, supramesocólico e inframesocólico, maniobra de Cattell-Braasch y dos tipos de maniobra de Mattox: retrorrenal y prerrenal. El conocimiento profundo de la anatomía intraabdominal es fundamental para la actuación quirúrgica sobre la aorta abdominal y el entrenamiento en cadáver a partir de la anatomía quirúrgica vascular y del tubo digestivo podría ayudar a desarrollar las habilidades quirúrgicas de los cirujanos en formación. (AU)

Access to the abdominal aorta and its visceral trunks is possible through several approaches. Dissections of five cadavers performed during three National Surgical Anatomy courses applied to Aorta, Hepatobiliopancreatic and Digestive Surgery. Videos and pictures were taken throughout the dissections and showed different abdominal aorta approaches. Abdominal aorta and visceral trunks approaches: longitudinal inframesocolic access, supraceliac clamping, celiac trunk dissection, superior mesenteric artery approaches (retroperitoneal after Kocher menoeuvre, supramesocolic or inframesocolic), Cattell-Braasch manoeuvre and mattox manoeuvre: retrorenal and prerenal. Correct knowledge of the intraabdominal anatomy is necessary to perform all the abdominal aorta surgical approaches. Cadaveric dissection could help to achieve this objective. Cardiovascular and digestive surgeons need to know the possible strategies in order to choose the one which is best suited for each patient. (AU)

Surgical anatomy applied to transperitoneal approaches of the abdominal aorta and visceral trunks. Dynamic article.

Access to the abdominal aorta and its visceral trunks is possible through several approaches. Dissections of five cadavers performed during three National Surgical Anatomy courses applied to Aorta, Hepatobiliopancreatic and Digestive Surgery. Videos and pictures were taken throughout the dissections and showed different abdominal aorta approaches. Abdominal aorta and visceral trunks approaches: longitudinal inframesocolic access, supraceliac clamping, celiac trunk dissection, superior mesenteric artery approaches (retroperitoneal after Kocher menoeuvre, supramesocolic or inframesocolic), Cattell-Braasch manoeuvre and mattox manoeuvre: retrorenal and prerenal. Correct knowledge of the intraabdominal anatomy is necessary to perform all the abdominal aorta surgical approaches. Cadaveric dissection could help to achieve this objective. Cardiovascular and digestive surgeons need to know the possible strategies in order to choose the one which is best suited for each patient.

Surgical anatomy applied to transperitoneal approaches of the abdominal aorta and visceral trunks. Dynamic article. / Anatomía quirúrgica aplicada a abordajes transperitoneales de la aorta abdominal y los troncos viscerales. Artículo dinámico.

Access to the abdominal aorta and its visceral trunks is possible through several approaches. Dissections of five cadavers performed during three National Surgical Anatomy courses applied to Aorta, Hepatobiliopancreatic and Digestive Surgery. Videos and pictures were taken throughout the dissections and showed different abdominal aorta approaches. Abdominal aorta and visceral trunks approaches: longitudinal inframesocolic access, supraceliac clamping, celiac trunk dissection, superior mesenteric artery approaches (retroperitoneal after Kocher menoeuvre, supramesocolic or inframesocolic), Cattell-Braasch manoeuvre and mattox manoeuvre: retrorenal and prerenal. Correct knowledge of the intraabdominal anatomy is necessary to perform all the abdominal aorta surgical approaches. Cadaveric dissection could help to achieve this objective. Cardiovascular and digestive surgeons need to know the possible strategies in order to choose the one which is best suited for each patient.

Efficacy of interleukin 10 gene hydrofection in pig liver vascular isolated 'in vivo' by surgical procedure with interest in liver transplantation.

AIM: Liver transplantation is the only curative strategy for final stage liver diseases. Despite the great advances achieved during the last 20 years, the recipient immune response after transplantation is not entirely controlled. This results in high rates of acute cell rejection and, approximately, 10% of early mortality. Therapeutic treatment could be improved by efficiently transfecting genes that encode natural immunosuppressant proteins, employing safe procedures that could be transferred to clinical setting. In this sense, interleukin 10 plays a central role in immune tolerance response by acting at different levels. METHODS: hIL10 gene was hydrofected by retrograde hydrodynamic injection in pig liver with complete vascular exclusion mediated by an 'in vivo' surgical procedure. Levels of IL10 DNA, RNA and protein were determined within liver tissue 1 and 10 days after the injection and, more frequently, also the interleukin-10 protein in peripheral blood. RESULTS: The procedure was safe for the animals and neither hemodynamic parameters nor liver function determinations showed relevant alterations. The hIL10 hydrofection in watertight liver mediated efficient gene transfer and this was transcribed and translated to protein, achieving up to 110 pg/ml of IL10 in peripheral blood. This value is close to that considered able to reduce the activity of TNFα by half (IL10 IC50 for TNFα = 124 pg/ml). CONCLUSIONS: Results of this work suggest that IL10 liver hydrofection with vascular exclusion in vivo is a safe and transferable procedure that mediates plasma protein levels with potential clinical interest in immune modulation after transplantation.

Low RNA translation activit limits the efficacy of hydrodynamic gene transfer to pig liver in vivo.

BACKGROUND: Hydrodynamic gene delivery has proved an efficient strategy for nonviral gene therapy in the murine liver but it has been less efficient in pigs. The reason for such inefficiency remains unclear. The present study used a surgical strategy to seal the whole pig liver in vivo. METHODS: A solution of enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) DNA was injected under two different venous injection conditions (anterograde and retrograde), employing flow rates of 10 and 20 ml/s in each case, with the aim of identifying the best gene transfer conditions. The gene delivery and information decoding steps were evaluated by measuring the eGFP DNA, mRNA and protein copy number 24 h after transfection. In addition, gold nanoparticles (diameters of 4 and 15 nm) were retrogradely injected (10 ml/s) to observe, by electron microscopy, the ability of the particle to access the hepatocyte. RESULTS: The gene delivery level was higher with anterograde injection, whereas the efficacy of gene expression was better with retrograde injection, suggesting differences in the decoding processes. Thus, retrograde injection mediates gene transcription (mRNA copy/cell) equivalent to that of intermediate expression proteins but the mRNA translation was lower than that of rare proteins. Electron microscopy showed that nanoparticles within the hepatocyte were almost exclusively 4 nm in diameter. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the low activity of mRNA translation limits the final efficacy of the gene transfer procedure. On the other hand, the gold nanoparticles study suggests that elongated DNA conformation could offer advantages in that the access of 15-nm particles is very limited.

Lessons learned from anatomic variants of the hepatic artery in 1,081 transplanted livers.

The aim of this study is to contribute our experience to the knowledge of the anatomic variations of the hepatic arterial supply. The surgical anatomy of the extrahepatic arterial vascularization was investigated prospectively in 1,081 donor cadaveric livers, transplanted at La Fe University Hospital from January 1991 to August 2004. The vascular anatomy of the hepatic grafts was classified according to Michels description (Am J Surg 1966;112:337-347) plus 2 variations. Anatomical variants of the classical pattern were detected in 30% of the livers (n=320). The most common variant was a replaced left artery arising from the left gastric artery (9.7%) followed by a replaced right hepatic artery arising from the superior mesenteric artery (7.8%). In conclusion, the information about the different hepatic arterial patterns can help in reducing the risks of iatrogenic complications, which in turn may result in better outcomes not only following surgical interventions but also in the context of radiological treatments.

Influence of preservation solution on the isolation and culture of human hepatocytes from liver grafts.

A major problem for the isolation and transplantation of hepatocytes is the lack of resources for obtaining viable hepatocytes. Improving this situation would enhance hepatic cell transplantation programs. Our objective was to evaluate the influence of the preservation solutions used during organ retrieval on the quality of hepatocytes isolated from liver tissue. We compared the results of the collagenase perfusion technique for isolation of hepatocytes in human livers flushed with University of Wisconsin (UW) and Celsior preservation solutions. Yield (number of viable cells per gram of tissue), cellular viability, efficiency of cells to attach to culture plates and form a monolayer, and drug metabolizing competence of the hepatocytes were measured. Successful isolation was achieved in 63% of the procedures using the UW solution and 100% of the procedures using the Celsior solution. In the UW group, significantly lower cell viability (38 +/- 41% vs. 79 +/- 14%, p < 0.05), yield of cells (4.0 +/- 5.2 x 10(6) vs. 8.2 +/- 5.6 x 10(6) cells/g, p < 0.05), and protein content at 24 h of culture (0.6 +/- 0.6 vs. 1.2 +/- 0.3 mg protein per plate, p < 0.05) than in Celsior solution were found. However, similar values of P450 activities were found in both groups. The more successful isolation, better yield, and higher cell viability obtained from human liver grafts preserved in Celsior solution, in comparison to UW solution, suggest Celsior solution as the most appropriate for preserving cadaveric hepatic tissue to be used for hepatocyte harvesting.

Combined liver transplantation plus imatinib for unresectable metastases of gastrointestinal stromal tumours.

Therapeutic options for treating unresectable hepatic metastases of leiomyosarcomas were scarce until a few years ago. Recent advances in the study of the biology of intestinal tumours have radically changed our knowledge of their pathogenesis. Many of the tumours previously considered as leiomyosarcomas are now identified as gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs). The introduction of imatinib (an antineoplasic drug that specifically acts on the pathogenesis of these tumours) has shown promising results in patients with advanced GISTs. We present three patients with the initial diagnosis of unresectable hepatic metastases of leiomyosarcomas. They received liver transplants. All three had tumour recurrences after transplantation. Histological re-evaluation identified a stromal origin of the tumours, and the patients were treated with imatinib therapy (400 mg/day). Recurrence occurred in all patients after a mean of 38.3 months, but imatinib treatment achieved control of the tumours. The current survival times with the combination of transplantation and imatinib are 92, 48 and 46 months for the three patients. This series is small and inconclusive, but imatinib treatment showed promising results. The treatment options for patients with unresectable metastases of GISTs must be defined, as in these three patients liver transplantation achieved a disease-free status but all had tumour recurrences before starting the imatinib treatment.

Patrones de calidad en el manejo del carcinoma hepatocelular mediante resección hepática: criterios de selección y resultados en una unidad de referencia de cirugía hepatobiliar / Quality standards in the management of hepatocellular carcinoma with liver resection: selection and outcome criteria in a liver surgery reference unit

Introducción. Los resultados de la resección hepática parcial (RH) como tratamiento definitivo del carcinoma hepatocelular (CHC) pueden depender en gran medida de la adecuada selección de los pacientes y de la técnica quirúrgica. Para una mejor aplicación de estos métodos se han constituido en los últimos años unidades de referencia de cirugía hepática (UR).Objetivo. Evaluar los resultados de la RH en el CHC en una UR con pautas de selección y manejo definidos, orientados a la consecución de resultados estandarizados. Pacientes y método. Seleccionamos a 51 pacientes para tratamiento quirúrgico mediante RH. Los criterios de indicación fueron distintos para el grupo A (no cirróticos, 24 pacientes) y el grupo B (cirróticos, 27 pacientes).La técnica quirúrgica estuvo estandarizada. Utilizamos como criterios de calidad: la morbilidad, la mortalidad, la supervivencia total y libre de enfermedad y la recidiva. Resultados. La morbilidad fue del 18 por ciento (9 pacientes), no significativa en el número y tipo de complicaciones entre los 2 grupos. La mortalidad fue del 25,5 por ciento (13 pacientes), un 4 por ciento operatoria y un 16 por ciento por recidiva, no significativa entre los 2 grupos. La mediana de seguimiento fue de 20,5 meses. La supervivencia acumulada fue del 87, el 64 y el 48 por ciento a 1, 3 y 5 años (sin significación estadística entre los grupos).La supervivencia acumulada libre de enfermedad fue del 82, el 46 y el 41 por ciento a 1, 3 y 5 años (sin significación estadística entre los grupos). La recidiva se produjo en 14 pacientes (27,5 por ciento), sin diferencias significativas entre los grupos A y B. La recidiva apareció en un tiempo medio de 19 ñ 45 meses (rango, 5-40 meses). La acumulada a 5 años fue del 48 por ciento. Conclusiones. El esquema de actuación quirúrgica con relación a la RH para el CHC dentro de una UR ha permitido obtener unos resultados equiparables a los estándares de excelencia. Unas adecuadas selección e indicación, junto con las técnicas quirúrgicas disponibles, nos han permitido obtener unos resultados similares en pacientes cirróticos y no cirróticos (AU)

If the donor had an early-stage genitourinary carcinoma and the liver has already been implanted, should we perform the transplantectomy?

Information regarding the outcome of liver grafts from cadaveric donors with genitourinary cancer is scarce. In some cases, the liver has already been implanted when the tumor is detected. What must we do then? Our goal is to evaluate the outcome of recipients of liver allografts from donors with unsuspected early-stage genitourinary carcinoma. We performed 684 liver procurements from cadaveric donors and 582 liver transplants. A malignant genitourinary tumor was detected in the donor after implantation of the donor liver in six cases (1.03%): four renal carcinomas and two prostate cancers. All donors were elderly (mean age, 64.6 years) and died of a cerebrovascular accident. Four patients are still alive and presently free of malignancy, whereas the two other transplant recipients died of hepatitis C virus recurrence at 14 and 55 months after transplantation without evidence of tumor transmission. We did not observe evidence of tumor transmission in any patient after an average follow-up of 51 +/- 20 months. Our results suggest it is not always necessary to perform transplantectomy or use special treatment modalities in recipients of a liver allograft from donors with early-stage (T1 to T2) renal cell carcinoma or early (T1) prostate carcinoma.

Hemobilia secundaria a drenaje biliar percutáneo: características clínicas,diagnóstico y enfoque terapéutico / Hemobilia secondary to percutaneous biliary drainage: clinical characteristics, diagnosis and therapeutic approach

Introducción. La utilización de drenajes biliares transparietohepáticos (DBP) no está exenta de complicaciones, entre las que se encuentra la hemobilia. La clínica de hemobilia puede variar desde síntomas de hemorragia digestiva alta, colagitis y pancreatitis hasta iniciarse de forma catastrófica como hemobilia masiva. Caso clínico 1. Paciente con ictericia obstructiva iatrógena. DBP que produce hemorragia externa e interna y que se convierte en masiva al retirar el catéter. Control de la hemorragia mediante arteriografía y embolización selectiva del punto sangrante. Caso clínico 2. Paciente con colangiocarcinoma hiliar portador de DBP. Trisegmentectomía hepática derecha y hepatoyeyunostomía, manteniendo el drenaje en su interior. Hemobilia masiva al retirar el catéter de drenaje el octavo día postoperatorio. Diagnóstico radiológico del punto sangrante y control mediante embolización selectiva. Conclusiones. La presentación de hemobilia como crisis repetidas de colangitis o pancreatitis sin signos de hemorragia digestiva alta es de difícil diagnóstico, debiéndose tener en cuenta su posibilidad en el diagnóstico diferencial en todo paciente portador o con antecedentes de DBP. La retirada de DBP debe realizarse siempre en el ámbito hospitalario y con especial atención a la evolución clínica del paciente tras la retirada. La angiografía con embolización es un método eficaz en el control de la hemobilia por DBP en un alto porcentaje de casos (AU)

Hepatocellular carcinoma: Can it be considered a controversial indication for liver transplantation in centers with high rates of hepatitis C?

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still considered a controversial indication for liver transplantation (LT), mainly because of long waiting times and underlying viral cirrhosis. The goal was to evaluate the outcome of LT in 104 patients with HCC and cirrhosis, mainly hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related, in a center with a short waiting time (median, 105 days). Four groups were formed according to the HCC and HCV status: HCV positive with HCC (group 1, n = 81), HCV negative with HCC (group 2, n = 23), HCV positive without HCC (group 3, n = 200), and HCV negative without HCC (group 4, n = 207). Predictive factors of tumor recurrence were demographics, tumor related (size or number of nodules, capsule, bilobar involvement, vascular or lymphatic invasion, clinical and pathologic TNM staging, pre-LT percutaneous ultrasound-guided ethanol injection or transarterial chemoembolization, alpha-fetoprotein levels), donor and surgery related, and year of transplantation. The same variables and "tumor recurrence (yes/no)" were applied to evaluate the effect on survival. The median follow up was 29 months (range, 0 to 104 months). Patient survival was 70% at 1 year and 59% at 5 years for group 1, 87% at 1 year and 77% at 5 years for group 2, 81% at 1 year and 64% at 5 years for group 3, and 88% at 1 year and 77% at 5 years for group 4 (P =.013). Survival was significantly lower in patients with HCC than in those without (74% and 63% versus 85% and 70%, at 1 and 5 years, respectively; P =.05). The causes of death in those with and without HCC were tumor recurrence (24%) and recurrent HCV (8%) versus sepsis (34%) and recurrent HCV (14%). HCC recurrence occurred in 12 patients (11.5%) at a median of 14 months (range, 3 to 60 months) with a probability increasing from 8% at 1 year to 16% at 5 years. In patients with HCC, tumor recurrence was associated with vascular invasion (P =.0004) by multivariate analysis; variables predictive of survival were donor old age (P =.01), viral-related etiology (P =.02), and tumor recurrence (P =.001). Although LT still remains an adequate indication for HCC in centers with high prevalence of HCV infection and short waiting times, both tumor and HCV-related recurrent diseases hamper significantly the outcomes of these patients.

Contribution of donor age to the recent decrease in patient survival among HCV-infected liver transplant recipients.

Recurrent hepatitis occurs in the majority of patients undergoing liver transplantation for hepatitis C virus (HCV) cirrhosis, with progression to cirrhosis in up to 30% after 5 years. Based on these data, a decrease in survival can be anticipated with prolonged follow-up. Furthermore, posttransplantation HCV-fibrosis progression has been shown in recent years to increase. Our aims were (1) to describe the natural history of HCV-infected recipients, particularly to determine whether survival has decreased in recent years; (2) to compare this outcome with that observed in non-HCV-infected cirrhosis controls; and (3) to determine the factors associated with disease severity and survival. Among 522 cirrhotic patients undergoing transplantation between 1991 and 2000, 283 (54%) were infected with HCV. Yearly biopsies were performed in these recipients and at 1 and 5 years in the remainder. With similar follow-up, the percentage of deaths in the HCV(+) group was significantly higher than in the HCV- group (37% vs. 22%, P <.001), and patient survival was lower (77%, 61%, 55% vs. 87%, 76%, 70% at 1, 5, and 7 years, respectively; P =.0001). Although survival has increased in the HCV- group in recent years, it has significantly decreased in HCV recipients (P <.0001). The main cause of death among the latter was decompensated graft cirrhosis (n = 23/105, 22%), whereas that of HCV- patients was infections (n = 10/52, 19%). Reasons for the recent worse outcome in HCV+ recipients include the increased donor age and stronger immunosuppression. In conclusion, patient survival is lower among HCV+ recipients than among HCV- ones and has been decreasing in recent years. The aging of donors is a major contributor to this worse outcome.