Fluorescence-guided hepatobiliary surgery with long and short wavelength fluorophores

Fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) is a potentially powerful tool for hepatobiliary (HPB) surgery. The high sensitivity of fluorescence navigation is especially useful in settings where tactile feedback is limited.

The present narrative review evaluates literature on the use of FDA-approved fluorophores such as methylene blue (MB), 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), and indocyanine green (ICG) for clinical intra-operative image-guidance during HPB surgery.

Approaches such as dosing, timing, imaging devices and comparative endpoints are summarized. The feasibility and safety of fluorophores in visualizing the biliary tree, identify biliary leaks, outline anatomic hepatic segments, identify tumors, and evaluate perfusion and graft function in liver transplants are discussed.

Tumor-specific probes are a promising advancement in FGS with a greater degree of specificity. The current status of tumor-specific probes being evaluated in clinical trials are summarized.

Relevant discussion of promising tumor-specific probes in pre-clinical development are discussed. Fluorescence-guidance in HPB surgery is relatively new, but current literature shows that the dyes are reliably able to outline desired structures with a variety of dosing, timing, and imaging devices to provide real-time intra-operative anatomic information to surgeons. Development of tumor-specific probes will further advance the field of HPB surgery especially during oncologic resections.