Total vascular exclusion for hepatic resection in cirrhotic patients. Application of venovenous bypass

Hepatic vascular exclusion with double venovenous bypass using a centrifugal force pump was used in major hepatic resections in eight patients with hepatocellular carcinoma combined with cirrhosis, and results were compared with those in four patients with hepatocellular carcinoma without cirrhosis and eight with metastatic tumors without cirrhosis among 521 patients undergoing liver resection. Concomitant resection of the retrohepatic inferior vena cava was performed in three of eight patients with cirrhosis and five of 12 patients without cirrhosis. All patients, except one with cirrhosis, tolerated major resection without any hemodynamic impairment, which is often observed in hepatic vascular exclusion without venovenous bypass. One patient, whose complete inflow occlusion period was 70 minutes, died of liver failure. In this patient, the recovery of the arterial ketone body ratio above 1.0 was delayed until 3 days after recirculation, whereas the ratio in the others recovered promptly. Postoperative complications such as increased bilirubin level, pleural effusion, and gastrointestinal tract bleeding were observed in seven of eight patients with cirrhosis compared with six of 12 without cirrhosis. Hepatic vascular exclusion is feasible even in cirrhotics as long as it is applied with venovenous bypass and is kept within the time limit of 60 minutes.