Liberal Application of Portal Vein Embolization for Right Hepatectomy Against Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Strategy to Achieve Zero Mortality for a Damaged Liver

Background/Aim: Right hepatectomy and extended right hepatectomy (Rt-Hr) are identified as risk factors for the development of post-hepatectomy liver failure (PHLF). Although portal vein embolization (PVE) has made it possible to safely perform extended hepatectomy, to ensure safety, in our department, PVE is performed prior to Rt-Hr for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) regardless of the resection rate. This study aimed to retrospectively investigate the clinical course of PVE prior to Rt-Hr for HCC cases resected in our department and the appropriateness of our policy by clarifying complications and deaths.Patients and Methods: The target period was from 2005 to 2020. Among the HCC cases resected at our hospital, those in which PVE was performed prior to Rt-Hr were included in this study. For PHLF, the definition of the International Study Group of Liver Surgery was used. The Clavien-Dindo classification was used for postoperative complications. Perioperative mortality was defined as the overall mortality within 30 days following surgery and surgery-related deaths within 90 days following surgery.Results: A total of 79 cases were included. Rt-Hr was possible in all cases after PVE and there were no cases in which serious complications occurred after PVE. PHLF was found in 14 cases (17.7%)/5 cases (6.4%)/0 cases (0%) of Grade A/B/C, respectively. Regarding postoperative complications, there were no Grade IV, and Grade IIIa/IIIb were found in 13 cases (16.5%). There were no perioperative deaths.Conclusion: Our department's policy of performing PVE prior to all Rt-Hr was considered to be a safe and reasonable treatment strategy.

Automated summary

This study retrospectively investigated the clinical course of portal vein embolization (PVE) prior to right hepatectomy (Rt-Hr) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases. The results showed that performing PVE prior to Rt-Hr was considered to be a safe and reasonable treatment strategy.