How to deal with hepatic artery injury during pancreaticoduodenectomy. A systematic review

Abstract

Operative injury to the hepatic artery is a serious complication of pancreaticoduodenectomy and guidelines to manage this complication are lacking. A systematic search performed in PubMed database identified eleven studies overall including 20 patients having sustained injury to the hepatic artery during pancreaticoduodenectomy (n=18) or total pancreatectomy (n=2). One further unpublished personal observation following pancreaticoduodenectomy was also included. Sixteen of 21 patients (76%) experienced serious complications including liver necrosis/abscess (n=14), acute liver failure (n=3), and biliary anastomotic dehiscence (n=6). Eleven patients (52%) were reoperated and 5 patients died (24%). Arterial injury was recognized and repaired immediately in five patients, four recovering uneventfully and one dying from acute liver failure (20%). In contrast delayed or conservative treatment in 16 patients was associated with serious early morbidity in 15 patients (94%), leading to death in 4 patients and late biliary complications in four others. Accidental interruption of arterial flow to the liver during pancreaticoduodenectomy often results in serious short and long-term consequences. Immediate restoration of arterial flow is indicated whenever technically feasible and may prevent early life-threatening complications as well as late biliary stenosis.