Nobuhiro Kawano

Hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma. Clinical features and long-term prognosis.

Ninety-eight hepatic resections for hepatocellular carcinoma were performed on 94 patients from 1963-1985. HBs antigen was positive in 17% of patients, preoperative serum alpha-fetoprotein was more than 20 ng/mL in 70% of patients, and liver cirrhosis was present in 75% of patients. Hospital mortality rate was 19%, and the volume of operative blood loss was the most decisive factor that affected the short-term prognosis. Excluding the 19 hospital deaths, the long-term survival rates of 75 patients were 73%, 42%, and 25% for 1, 3, and 5 years, respectively. Prognostic factors that influenced the long-term prognosis were investigated by comparing the survival curves. Significant differences of survival patterns were noted when analyzed on the basis of preoperative alpha-fetoprotein level (less than or equal to 200 vs. greater than 200 ng/mL), tumor size (less than or equal to 5 vs. greater than 5 cm), and tumor capsule. The recurrence of carcinoma was the main cause of death in 56% (42 patients) who died after discharge from the hospital. The development of effective prevention and treatment against recurrent tumors is necessary to improve long-term prognosis.

Postoperative recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Sixty-nine patients with hepatocellular carcinoma underwent curative hepatic resections as primary cases from 1981 to 1986. Seven patients died in the hospital after operation. The other 62 patients left the hospital and were closely followed for 25 to 78 months. Recurrence of carcinoma became obvious in 41 (66%) of 62 patients. The clinical and pathologic features of these 41 patients were not significantly different from those of the other patients. Recurrent tumors were found in the residual liver in 38 patients (93%), in the bone in 2 (5%), and in the lung in 1 (2%). Recurrence was diagnosed within 1 year, between 1 and 2 years, and more than 2 years after the operation in 22 (56%), 10 (26%), and 7 (18%) patients, respectively. It was difficult to determine the exact time of recurrence in two patients. There was a significant negative correlation between the size of primary tumor and time until recurrence; the larger the primary tumor, the shorter the time until recurrence. Among the 29 patients who underwent local excisions for their primary tumors, 19 recurrences were observed. Eighteen were found in the residual liver, in the same segment as the primary tumor, or in one near it. Larger hepatic resection for primary tumors is thus advocated to prevent recurrence.

Surgical resection for small hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND Surgical resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can be curative in selected patients, particularly in those with a solitary small HCC (s-sHCC; 2 cm or less in diameter). However, even these patients often have a risk of tumor recurrence or death from underlying liver dysfunction. Therefore it is important to determine which clinicopathologic features are related to the long-term prognosis after resection of s-sHCC. METHODS Fifty patients with s-sHCC underwent partial hepatectomy at our department between 1977 and 1992. Six (12%) died of liver failure in hospital after operation. Eight clinicopathologic features were examined in the remaining 44 patients with regard to their long-term prognosis by use of univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS The 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 90%, 75%, and 53%, respectively. The corresponding disease-free survival rates were 80%, 53%, and 30%, respectively. None of the following parameters was significantly related to survival rate or disease-free survival rate: presence of vascular invasion or capsular formation, the distance of free surgical margin (1 cm or more or not), serum alpha-fetoprotein level, positive hepatitis B surface antigen, and preoperative transarterial embolization. Complicated liver function was the only significant factor related to survival rate and disease-free survival rate. CONCLUSIONS A good hepatic reserve is an important factor in treating patients with s-sHCC by surgical resection, even for a long-term prognosis. Liver transplantation should be considered for patients with severe cirrhosis and s-sHCC, even though a curative resection might be possible.

One hundred hepatic resections. Indications and operative results.

The indications and operative results of hepatic resections were investigated in 100 consecutive patients over the past 20 years. There were 61 hepatocellular carcinoma, 13 hepatolithiasis, and 26 other miscellaneous diseases. An overall hospital mortality rate was 25%. It was 26, 0, and 35% in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatolithiasis, and other diseases, respectively. There was not any significant difference between survived and deceased cases in their preoperative laboratory data. The volume of operative blood loss in deceased cases was significantly larger than that in survived cases, so the influence of operative blood loss on morbidity and mortality was investigated. The incidences of postoperative bleeding, hepatic insufficiency, pulmonary insufficiency, and hospital death were significantly higher in patients whose operative blood loss exceeded 5000 ml. These results indicate that operative blood loss is one of the critical factors that decide the operative prognosis.

Reactive lymphoid hyperplasia of the liver characterized by an angiofollicular pattern mimicking Castleman's disease.

A case of reactive lymphoid hyperplasia of the liver exhibiting a characteristic angiofoillcular pattern is reported. A hepatic nodular lesion was discovered by abdominal echography during clinical follow‐up of abnormal liver function tests. It was diagnosed as hepatocellular carcinoma because of Its hypervascularity when observed by angiography, and surgically resected. Grossly, the lesion was well‐demarcated and measured 2 cm In diameter. Microscopycally, the nodule was composed of lymph follicies with germinal centers, and the hyalinized Inter‐follicular space contained abundant hyalinized vasculature and plasma cells. The surrounding liver tissue exhibited chronic Inflammation with some pecullar angiofolllcular structures mimicking Castlemans disease. An Immunohistoehemical study revealed that the angiofoillcular structure had the same characteristics as a lymph follicle with a general center, and that the plasma cells proliferating in the inter‐follicular space had polyclonal Immunophenotypes. These histological and immunohistochemical findings Indicated that the angiofoillcular structure observed was a kind of reactive lymph follicle, and that this hepatic lesion was reactive lymphoid hyperplasla rather than Castlemans disease or an inflammatory pseudotumor.

Long-term prognosis of surgical patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

SummaryWe reviewed 139 resected patients with hepatocellular carcinoma at our clinic between 1963 and 1987, and using the 118 cases for the period between 1963 and 1986, we analyzed the prognostic factors that influenced the long-term prognosis by comparing the survival curves. Significant differences in the survival patterns were noted when analysed on the basis of the preoperative indocyanine green maximal removal rate (>0.4 mg kg−1 min−1 versus <0.4 mg kg−1 min−1), tumor size (>5 cm versus <5 cm, etc.) and the existence of tumor capsule. The recurrence of carcinoma was the main cause of death of 32 patients (56%), who died after being discharged from hospital. To improve the prognosis of patients with surgically treated hepatocellular carcinoma, postoperative multidisciplinary treatment is mandatory.

APPENDICO-ILEO-VESICAL FISTULA

Abstract: Appendico-vesical fistula is a rare condition. In total, 109 cases, most secondary to appendicitis, have been reported in the English-language litera-ture. We report the first case, to our knowledge, of appendico-ileo-vesical fistula secondary to appendiceal diverticulitis. An enterovesical fistula was diagnosed by urine culture, cystoscopy, and computed tomography. The locations of enteric opening sites were demonstrated by barium enema and colonoscopy. Ileocecal resection and fistulectomy with primary reconstruction were performed. We believe that accurate pre- and intra-operative diagnosis is essential for cure. This case demonstrates the importance of barium enema and colonoscopic examinations in the diagnosis and treatment of complicated enterovesical fistula.

Malignant hemangiopericytoma of the liver: Report of a case

A 30 year old female was admitted with right upper abdominal pain and fever. Ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed a large cystic mass in the right lobe of the liver, and aspiration bacteriology was negative. A right hepatic lobectomy was performed for a suspected cystadenocarcinoma, however, the tumor was histologically diagnosed as a hemangiopericytoma with prominent venous invasion. The patient died within a short time of multiple pulmonary metastases. Primary hepatic hemangiopericytoma is extremely rare, and according to our research, this is only the 4th case reported in the literature.

The beneficial effect of superoxide dismutase on the rat liver graft

We performed orthotopic liver transplantation in male Wistar rats and investigated the effect of superoxide dismutase (SOD) on the liver graft. Animals were divided into the four following experimental groups. Group I was an untreated control group, group II received oxygen, group III received SOD and group IV received both oxygen and SOD. The dose of SOD was 3 mg/kg which was injected intravenously into both donors and recipients during the operation. Oxygen was given through an oxygen inhaler to both donors and recipients during the operation. The preservation time of the liver graft ranged from 4 hours and 41 minutes to 5 hours and 40 minutes. The survival after liver transplantation was compared among groups I, II, III and IV. Group IV showed a significantly higher survival rate than groups I and II by two weeks after liver grafting, but there was no statistical difference in the survival rates between groups III and IV. These results indicate the beneficial effect of SOD on the rat liver graft and may implicate oxygen free radicals in the pathogenesis of ischemia/reperfusion injury in liver grafts.

Coated polyglactin 910—A new synthetic absorbable suture

Physical properties of newly developed synthetic absorbable sutures, “coated polyglactin 910”, were compared with findings in two conventional synthetic absorbable sutures. Clinical results of application in 108 cases in Japan (123 clinical cases in number of tissues approximated) were also evaluated. Our findings clearly indicate that coated polyglactin 910 sutures may well become the sutures of choice for various surgical applications.