Marcelo Augusto Fontenelle Ribeiro

Biliary Complications Following Deceased and Living Donor Liver Transplantation: A Review

INTRODUCTION Biliary complications are the most important source of complications after liver transplantation, and an important cause of morbidity and mortality. With the evolution of surgical transplantation techniques, including living donor and split-liver transplants, the complexity of these problems is increasing. Many studies have shown a higher incidence of biliary tract complications in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) compared with deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT). This article reviews biliary complications after liver transplantation and correlations with LDLT and DDLT. OBJECTIVE Provide an overview of biliary complications among LDLT and DDLT. RESULTS The incidence of biliary complications is higher among LDLT (28.7%) when compared with DDLT (15.5%). Bile leaks were the most common complication due to LDLT (17.1%); however, stricture was the most common complication due to DDLT (7.5%).

Liver Transplantation from Deceased Donors Serologically Positive for Chagas Disease

The high mortality rates among patients waiting for liver transplantation has motivated the use of ‘marginal livers’, among which are included livers from deceased donors serologically positive for Chagas disease (CD). The present work describes the outcome of orthotopic liver transplantation in six patients with severe liver disease (Child Pugh C), with livers from donors serologically positive for CD. Transplantations were performed from November 2000 to January 2005, and the patients received prophylactic treatment with benznidazole for 60 days, as a recommended by the Brazilian Consensus in Chagas Disease. The transplantation procedures presented no technical problems, and all the patients were discharged from hospital. Five of them did not present side effects demanding interruption of the prophylactic treatment. Four of the patients were clinically well over 1 year after transplantation (mean follow‐up of 42.1 months), with negative serological results for CD. Two patients died, one of them 6 months post surgery of sepsis due to biliary complication and other one due to pulmonary (tuberculosis) complications. They were both serologically negative for CD. These results suggest that liver transplantation from CD donors, followed by benznidazole prophylactic treatment, is an important therapeutic alternative for severe liver disease.

Complications of radiofrequency ablation of hepatic tumors: Frequency and risk factors

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has become an important option in the therapy of primary and secondary hepatic tumors. Surgical resection is still the best treatment option, but only a few of these patients are candidates for surgery: multilobar disease, insufficient liver reserve that will lead to liver failure after resection, extra-hepatic disease, proximity to major bile ducts and vessels, and co-morbidities. RFA has a low mortality and morbidity rate and is considered to be safe. Thus, complications occur and vary widely in the literature. Complications are caused by thermal damage, direct needle injury, infection and the patients co-morbidities. Tumor type, type of approach, number of lesions, tumor localization, underlying hepatic disease, the physicians experience, associated hepatic resection and lesion size have been described as factors significantly associated with complications. The physician in charge should promptly recognize high-risk patients more susceptible to complications, perform a close post procedure follow-up and manage them early and adequately if they occur. We aim to describe complications from RFA of hepatic tumors and their risk factors, as well as a few techniques to avoid them. This way, others can decrease their morbidity rates with better outcomes.

TORSION OF A WANDERING SPLEEN TREATED WITH PARTIAL SPLENECTOMY AND SPLENOPEXY

BACKGROUND Wandering spleen is a rare and unusual entity, characterized by excessive mobility and displacement of the organ from its normal position. This happens due to congenital or acquired anomalies leading to the lack of the spleens suspensory ligaments. Clinical presentation is variable; acute abdominal pain may occur when persistent torsion of the splenic pedicle results in splenic infarction. Ultrasonography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging are modalities that may be used in diagnosis. The treatment of choice is surgery, with splenectomy or splenopexy, the latter being preferred. CASE REPORT The patient was a 38-year-old woman with a 10-day history of left-sided abdominal pain. Imaging demonstrated a wandering spleen with partial infarction of the inferior pole. An open partial splenectomy with splenopexy of the remaining spleen was performed with the use of an absorbable mesh sutured to the abdominal wall and stomach. Her recovery was uneventful and on follow-up she had no signs of recurrence or complications. CONCLUSION Wandering spleen should be considered in cases of acute abdominal pain, and surgery is the treatment of choice, with the goal of preservation of the organ whenever possible.

Esophagectomy for a traumatic esophageal perforation with delayed diagnosis

Esophageal perforations are rare, and traumatic perforations are even more infrequent. Due to the rarity of this condition and its nonspecific presentation, the diagnosis and treatment of this type of perforation are delayed in more than 50% of patients, which leads to a high mortality rate. An 18-year-old male patient was brought to the emergency room with a penetrating neck injury, caused by a gunshot wound. He was taken to the operating room and underwent surgical exploration of the neck and a chest tube was inserted to treat the hemo- and pneumothorax. During the procedure, a 2 cm lesion was detected in the esophagus, and the patient underwent a primary repair. A contrast leakage into his right hemithorax was noticed on the 4th postoperative day; he was submitted to new surgery, and a subtotal esophagectomy and jejunostomy were performed. He was discharged from the hospital in good condition 20 d after the last procedure. The discussion around this topic focuses on the importance of the timing of diagnosis and the subsequent treatment. In early diagnosed patients, more conservative therapeutics should be performed, such as primary repair, while in those with delayed diagnosis, the patient should be submitted to more aggressive and definitive treatment.

Complications after Radiofrequency Ablation of 233 Hepatic Tumors.

Objective: The only curative treatment for primary and secondary hepatic malignancies is surgery and liver transplantation. Thus, the majority of the patients are not candidates for resection, and there is a lack of organs. For these reasons, alternative treatment modalities such as radiofrequency ablation (RFA) are employed. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the incidence and types of complications related to open and percutaneous RFA. Method: This is a retrospective study of patients with hepatic malignancies treated by RFA. Tumor size, location, numbers of nodules, approach, histology and associated procedures were analyzed and correlated to complications. Results: A total of 151 patients with primary and secondary hepatic malignancies were included: 58 with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 68 with metastases from colorectal cancer and 25 with other types of tumors. Complications occurred in 24.5% of the patients, mostly (58.9%) in those with HCC. Ascites was the most common complication, followed by wound infection. The only two significant factors associated with complications were the presence of HCC (p = 0.0087) and two or more lesions (p = 0.0323). The mortality rate was 0.69%. Conclusion: RFA is a safe technique, but complications may occur and are multifactorial. Appropriate patient selection, early complication recognition and adequate treatment are essential.

Spleen preserving distal pancreatectomy in an isolated blunt pancreatic trauma

Blunt isolated pancreatic trauma is uncommon, accounting for 1%-4% of high impact abdominal injuries. In addition, its diagnosis can be difficult; physical signs may be poor and laboratory findings nonspecific, resulting in delayed treatment. Preserving the spleen during distal pancreatectomy (DP) is controversial. One of the spleens functions regards immunity; complications following splenectomy include leukocytosis, thrombocytosis, overwhelming post splenectomy sepsis and some degree of immunodeficiency. This is why many authors favor its preservation. We describe a case of a young man with an isolated pancreatic trauma due to a blunt abdominal trauma with a delayed presentation who was treated with spleen-preserving DP and we discuss the value of this procedure with reference to the literature.

Comparative study of abdominal cavity temporary closure techniques for damage control.

The damage control surgery, with emphasis on laparostomy, usually results in shrinkage of the aponeurosis and loss of the ability to close the abdominal wall, leading to the formation of ventral incisional hernias. Currently, various techniques offer greater chances of closing the abdominal cavity with less tension. Thus, this study aims to evaluate three temporary closure techniques of the abdominal cavity: the Vacuum-Assisted Closure Therapy - VAC, the Bogotá Bag and the Vacuum-pack. We conducted a systematic review of the literature, selecting 28 articles published in the last 20 years. The techniques of the bag Bogotá and Vacuum-pack had the advantage of easy access to the material in most centers and low cost, contrary to VAC, which, besides presenting high cost, is not available in most hospitals. On the other hand, the VAC technique was more effective in reducing stress at the edges of lesions, removing stagnant fluids and waste, in addition to acting at the cellular level by increasing proliferation and cell division rates, and showed the highest rates of primary closure of the abdominal cavity. RESUMO A cirurgia de controle de danos, com ênfase em peritoneostomia, geralmente resulta em retração da aponeurose e perda da capacidade de fechar a parede abdominal, levando à formação de hérnias ventrais incisionais. Atualmente, várias técnicas oferecem maiores chances de fechamento da cavidade abdominal, com menor tensão. Deste modo, este estudo tem por objetivo avaliar três técnicas de fechamento temporário da cavidade abdominal: fechamento a vácuo (Vacuum-Assisted Closure Therapy - VAC), Bolsa de Bogotá e Vacuum-pack. Realizou-se uma revisão sistemática da literatura com seleção de 28 artigos publicados nos últimos 20 anos. As técnicas de Bolsa de Bogotá e Vacuum-pack tiveram como vantagem o acesso fácil ao material, na maioria dos centros, e baixo custo, ao contrário do que se observa na terapia a vácuo, VAC, que além de apresentar alto custo, não está disponível em grande parte dos hospitais. A técnica VAC, por outro lado, foi mais eficaz na redução da tensão nas bordas das lesões, ao remover fluidos estagnados e detritos, além de exercer ação a nível celular, aumentando as taxas de proliferação e divisão celular, e apresentou as maiores taxas de fechamento primário da cavidade abdominal.

Penetrating injury to the inferior vena cava.

A 21-YEAR-OLD MALE PATIENT was admitted to the emergency department after a gunshot wound entering the right flank. The patient was in shock, with a blood pressure of 80/40 mmHg, 130 bpm heart rate, and a Glasgow Coma Scale of 10. We calculated an Injury Severity Score of 25 and Revised Trauma Score of 6,171. His breath sounds were normal. His initial base deficit was !12.4. No exit wound was visualized. The patient was taken to the operating room and underwent laparotomy, with a midline incision made. At celiotomy, a moderate amount of free intraperitoneal blood was evacuated. At this time, a large, expanding zone I retroperitoneal hematoma was found; exploration was performed after medial rotation of the right colon and duodenum. A large amount of blood was again evacuated. The bullet caused a large laceration in the infrarenal segment of the inferior vena cava (IVC; Fig); vascular control (distal and proximal) was obtained with the use of Satinsky clamps. Surprisingly, no other injuries were observed. Because the patient was critically ill, and primary repair was not amenable (because of the large gap), ligation of the IVC was performed. Fluid resuscitation and blood transfusion after surgery occurred in the intensive care unit. The patient died 20 hours later from the effects of prolonged shock and coagulopathy.

A mathematical model for shortening waiting time in pancreas-kidney transplantation

AIM To simulate a hypothetical increase of 50% in the number of pancreas-kidney (PK) transplantations using less-than-ideal donors by a mathematical model. METHODS We projected the size of the waiting list by taking into account the incidence of new patients per year, the number of PK transplantations carried out in the year and the number of patients who died on the waiting list or were removed from the list for other reasons. These variables were treated using a model developed elsewhere. RESULTS We found that the waiting list demand will meet the number of PK transplantation by the year 2022. CONCLUSION In future years, it is perfectly possible to minimize the waiting list time for pancreas transplantation through expansion of the donor pool using less-than-ideal donors.