F. Bartsch

Limits of Surgical Resection for Bile Duct Cancer

Introduction: Perihilar cholangiocarcinoma is the most frequent cholangiocarcinoma and poses difficulties in preoperative evaluation. For its therapy, often major hepatic resections as well as resection and reconstruction of the hepatic artery or the portal vein are necessary. In the last decades, great advances were made in both the surgical procedures and the perioperative anesthetic management. In this article, we describe from our point of view which facts represent the limits for curative (R0) resection in perihilar cholangiocarcinoma. Methods: Retrospective data of a 6-year period (2008-2014) was collected in an SPSS 22 database and further analyzed with focus on the surgical approach and the postoperative as well as histological results. Results: Out of 96 patients in total we were able to intend a curative resection in 73 patients (76%). In 58/73 (79.5%) resections an R0 situation could be reached (R1 n = 14; R2 n = 1). 23 patients were irresectable because of peritoneal carcinosis (n = 8), broad infiltration of major blood vessels (n = 8), bilateral advanced tumor growth to the intrahepatic bile ducts (n = 3), infiltration of the complete liver hilum (n = 2), infiltration of the gallbladder (n = 1), and liver cirrhosis (n = 1). Patients with a T4 stadium were treated with curative intention twice, and in each case an R1 resection was achieved. Most patients with irresectable tumors can be suspected to have a T4 stadium as well. In a T3 situation (n = 6) we could establish five R0 resections and one R1 resection. Conclusion: The limit of surgical resection for bile duct cancer is the advanced tumor stage (T stadium). While in a T3 stadium an R0 resection is possible in most cases, we were not able to perform an R0 resection in a T4 stadium. From our point of view, early T stadium cannot usually be estimated through expanded diagnostics but only through surgical exploration.

Transanal total mesorectal excision for restorative coloproctectomy in an obese high-risk patient with colitis-associated carcinoma

Abstract Transanal total mesorectal excision (TaTME) offers great potential for the treatment of malign and benign diseases. However, laparoscopic-assisted TaTME in ulcerative colitis has not been described in more than a handful of patients. We present a 47-year-old highly comorbid female patient with an ulcerative colitis–associated carcinoma of the ascending colon and steroid- refractory pancolitis. A two-stage restorative coloproctectomy including right-sided complete mesocolic excision was conducted. The second step consisted of a successful nerve-sparing TaTME and a handsewn ileal pouch–anal anastomosis. TaTME may extend the possible treatment options in inflammatory bowel disease, especially for high-risk patients.

Visceral infiltration of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is most prognostic after curative resection - Retrospective cohort study of 102 consecutive liver resections from a single center

INTRODUCTION Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a rare malignancy, and therefore large unicenter series on the surgical outcome are rare in the literature, and prognostic factors for overall survival in the literature vary widely. METHODS All patients who underwent surgery for ICC were prospectively recorded. The type of resection, operative details, histological results, morbidity, mortality, overall and recurrence-free survivals as well as prognostic factors were assessed. Prognostic factors were examined by univariate and multivariate analyses. P-values <0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS Between January 2008 and December 2015, 102 patients underwent a resection with curative intent and were included in this analysis. Major and extended hepatectomies were performed in 19 and 53 cases, respectively. Twenty-eight patients had additional vascular and 35 patients additional visceral resections. R0-resections were achieved in 87 patients (85.3%). Median recurrence-free and overall survivals were 9.3 and 20.8 months, respectively. N-stage, infiltration of surrounding structures and UICC stage were significant prognostic factors in the univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis depicted only visceral infiltration (p = 0.011) as independent predictor for overall survival, and tumor size (p < 0.001), N-stage (p = 0.007), R-stage (p = 0.008) and M-stage (p = 0.009) for recurrence-free survival. CONCLUSION An aggressive surgical approach achieves a high rate of R0 resections even in advanced ICC. Visceral infiltration is an independent predictor for overall survival for ICC after curative resection.

Transsacral rectocele following combined neurinoma resection: A case report.

Highlights • Case of a combined (transsacral and laparoscopic) resection of a presacral tumour.• First described case of a transsacral rectocele two years after this procedure.• Possibility of laparoscopic defect repair of transsacral defects.