Hepatectomy using a novel cart-based indocyanine green fluorescence imaging system

Indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence has been used effectively in imaging for locating hepatic tumors and evaluating hepatic segmentation. We report our initial experience of performing hepatic resection using the novel cart-based ICG fluorescence device LIGHTVISION^®. This device has several promising features, including the fact that there is no need to switch off the room light, it has hands-free operability, and it can be located away from the workspace to facilitate a good field of vision. We used the LIGHTVISION^® for 15 patients and detected 59 nodules (86.8%) in a total of 68 tumors in the resected specimens during surgery. The LIGHTVISION^® was used to identify the hepatic segments in ten patients, and the boundaries of the segment were clearly visualized on the liver surface on fluorescent images in all patients. All tumors were resected with surgical margins. Thus, the LIGHTVISION^® appears to be very useful for navigation in liver surgery.