Ali Emre

Spontaneous regression of a pancreatic head mass and biliary obstruction due to autoimmune pancreatitis.

Background: Autoimmune pancreatitis is an evolving entity. Methods: A patient who had spontaneous regression of a pancreatic head mass and biliary obstruction due to autoimmune pancreatitis is presented. Results: A 58-year-old diabetic woman with jaundice was referred for pancreatic head carcinoma diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). At laparotomy, a pancreatic head mass (4 × 3 cm) that involved the transverse mesocolon and two other hard masses (1 cm) in the pancreatic body and tail were found. The gallbladder was palpated as a hard tumor mass. Frozen section examination of the gallbladder and pancreatic biopsies revealed cholecystitis and pancreatitis with lymphoplasmacytic infiltration. The common bile duct was brittle and unsuitable for anastomosis. Starting 1 month after the operation, drainage from the biliary catheter decreased gradually and stopped. There was no parenchymal lesion on MRI examination in the 2nd postoperative month. Cholangiography from the percutaneous catheter showed flow of contrast agent into the duodenum. Serum immunoglobulin G, G4 and E levels were increased. Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of spontaneous regression of a pancreatic head mass and biliary obstruction due to autoimmune pancreatitis.

Endoscopic sphincterotomy in the treatment of postoperative biliary fistulas of hepatic hydatid disease

AbstractBackground: Ten patients with postoperative external biliary fistula treated by endoscopic sphincterotomy are reported. Methods: Nine of these patients were operated for hepatic hydatid disease and one for a liver abscess. Mean daily output of bile through the fistulae which were present for 5–39 days was approximately 500 cc. Results: Treatment was successful in nine patients with closure of the fistulae in 2–15 days (mean, 7 days). No response was obtained in one patient who was reoperated, and an intrahepatic biliary duct was found to be completely eroded by the cyst wall. Conclusions: Endoscopic sphincterotomy should be the first-line treatment for postoperative external biliary fistulae related to hepatic hydatid disease.

Mesoatrial shunt in Budd-Chiari syndrome

BACKGROUND The operations with proven effects on survival in Budd-Chiari syndrome are shunt operations and liver transplantation. PATIENTS AND METHODS Between 1993 and 1999 (June), 13 cases of Budd-Chiari syndrome have been treated surgically. Four cases had concomitant thrombosis of the inferior vena cava; the others had marked narrowing of the lumen due to the enlarged caudate lobe. Mesoatrial (n = 12) or mesosuperior vena caval (n = 1) shunts were constructed with ringed polytetrafluoroethylene grafts. RESULTS The median portal pressure fell from 45 (range 32 to 55) to 20 (range 11 to 27) cm H(2)O (P <0.001). Two patients died in the early postoperative period. One patient who did not comply with anticoagulant treatment had a shunt thrombosis in the second postoperative year. The other 10 patients are alive without problems during a median 42 (range 1 to 76) months of follow-up. CONCLUSION Mesoatrial shunt with a ringed polytetrafluoroethylene graft is effective in Budd-Chiari syndrome cases with thrombosis or significant stenosis in the inferior vena cava.

Cystic Echinococcal Liver Disease: New Insights into an Old Disease and an Algorithm for Therapy Planning

Human cystic echinococcosis (CE) continues to be a major health problem in developing countries. A review of current literature discloses four alternatives for the management of active CE, consisting of surgery, percutaneous treatment (PT), chemotherapy, and follow-up without intervention, but no clear guidelines for directing patients to the different management options. Palliation of symptoms or prevention of complications is the main rationale for the treatment of CE. Surgery has long been considered as the gold standard treatment. However, a meta-analysis comparing the clinical outcomes of patients treated with PT with those of a control group treated with surgery found PT to be more effective, safer, and cheaper. Medical therapy is considered to be ineffective when the criterion of success is defined as the disappearance of the lesion. However, medical therapy seems to be effective when the goal of therapy is defined as the prevention of complications in asymptomatic patients. We propose an algorithm for therapy planning in CE where the first line of therapy for patients with active lesions is PT. Patients with lesions unsuitable for PT are directed to surgery if they are symptomatic, have complicated lesions or have lesions that are prone to rupture. Asymptomatic patients with uncomplicated lesions are directed to medical therapy. Medical therapy failures are redirected to surgery.

Hydatid cysts of liver and portal hypertension.

Two cases of portal hypertension due to hydatid cysts of the liver are reported. In one of the patients, symptoms were secondary to obstruction of inferior vena cava and hepatic outflow tract. The other patient was operated on with a diagnosis of extrahepatic presinusoidal portal hypertension caused by extrinsic compression of the liver by an hydatid cyst. Although hydatidosis is a benign disease, it can produce serious complications as in these reported cases. Therefore hydatidosis should be remembered amongst the causes of portal hypertension in countries where the disease is endemic.

Vena cava Stenting and Portorenal Shunt in Budd-Chiari Syndrome: Combination of the ‘Modern’ and the ‘Classical’

We have treated a 33-year-old Budd-Chiari patient (due to antiphospholipid syndrome) with a history of myocardial infarction by placing a vascular stent in the inferior vena cava and performing a portorenal shunt with three objectives: (1) to perform a shunt operation on a Budd-Chiari patient with good hepatic functional reserve, (2) to avoid a thoracotomy and manipulation of the heart in a patient with a cardiac thrombus and a history of myocardial infarction and (3) to avoid a synthetic graft in a patient with antiphospholipid syndrome. Vena cava stenting and portorenal shunt make a useful combination which should be included in the armamentarium of the hepatobiliary surgeon.

Liver transplantation in the management of iatrogenic biliary tract injury.

We read with great interest the article by Thomson et al. on the role of resection and transplantation in the management of iatrogenic biliary tract injury [1]. In the discussion part, the authors stated that ‘‘The English literature reports ten patients requiring hepatic transplantation in the management of biliary injury after cholecystectomy... Of these ten patients, four have died while awaiting a transplant... and the other from Kaposi’s sarcoma posttransplantation.’’ For the sake of completeness and adequate emphasis on this serious health problem, we wish to draw your attention to the other reported 14 patients who were treated by liver transplantation after iatrogenic injury during cholecystectomy (mostly biliary injury, sometimes associated with vascular injury) [2–6]. Although a combined surgical and radiologic approach achieves high success rates in biliary repair, progression to biliary cirrhosis cannot be always prevented [1]. It is likely that liver transplantation will continue to be a life-saving option in a selected group of patients with iatrogenic injury during cholecystectomy. References

The role of total pericystectomy in hepatic hydatidosis

Between 1977 and 1995, 495 patients were operated on for hepatic hydatidosis. Total pericystectomy was performed in 26 patients (closed technique in 21 and open technique in 5). Twenty-one patients had single cysts and 5 had two cysts. The median cyst diameter was 8cm (range; 3–20cm). The requirements for total pericystectomy were: (1) the cyst(s) should be located away from the hepatic veins, large bile ducts, or major branches of the portal vein and hepatic artery and (2) the patient should be fit to undergo a major operation. There was no procedure-related morbidity. One patient developed a biliary fistula that closed after endoscopic sphincterotomy. The median hospital stay was 7 days (range; 3–22 days). The median follow up was 24 months (range; 9–114 months). There was disease recurrence in a non-adjacent segment in 1 patient at 4 years. Pericystectomy is a potentially dangerous operation, but it avoids problems with cavity management and has low rates of biliary fistula, spillage, and recurrence. Its success stems primarily from careful patient selection.

Hepatic atrophy-hypertrophy complex due to echinococcus granulosus

Obstruction of a major hepatic vein, or major portal vein, or biliary tree branch causes atrophy of the related hepatic region, and frequently, hypertrophy in the remaining liver—the atrophy-hypertrophy complex (AHC). Whether hydatid cysts can causeAHCis controversial. The records of 370 patients who underwent surgery for hepatic hydatid disease between August 1993 and July 2002 were evaluated retrospectively. Excluding six patients with previous interventions on the liver, AHC had been recorded in the operative notes of 16 patients (4.4%); for all patients, a cyst located in the right hemiliver had caused atrophy of the right hemiliver and compensatory hypertrophy of the left hemiliver. The computed tomography images of seven patients were suitable for volumetric analysis. The median (range) right and left hemiliver volumes were 334 (0-686) ml and 1084 (663-1339) ml, respectively. The median (range) cyst volume was 392 (70–1363) ml. AHC due to Echinococcus granulosus was confirmed by objective volumetric analysis. The presence of AHC should alert the surgeon to two implications. First, pericystectomy may be hazardous due to association with major vascular and biliary structures. Second, in patients with AHC, the hepatoduodenal ligament rotates around its axis; this should be considered to avoid vascular injury if a common bile duct exploration is to be performed.

Liver hamartoma in an adult: Report of a rare case

Liver hamartoma is a rare type of benign tumor which usually occurs in the first few years of life. Although it is the second most common benign tumor in childhood, only about 100 cases have been reported in the English literature. Thus, it is extremely rare to encounter liver hamartoma in adults. This report details the clinical presentation and surgical management of a 24-year-old woman with a rapidly growing liver hamartoma. A right hepatic lobectomy was successfully performed and the patient was discharged in good health on the 10th postoperative day.