Selective Hepatic Embolization Research Articles

Depacked patients who underwent a shortened perihepatic packing for severe blunt liver trauma have a high survival rate: 20 years of experience in a level I trauma center

IntroductionNon-operative management is currently the preferred approach in blunt liver trauma, including high grade liver lesions. However, hemodynamic instability imposes the need for an emergency laparotomy, with a perihepatic packing (PHP) to control liver bleeding in most cases. Our retrospective study aimed to assess the outcomes of liver trauma patients who underwent a shortened PHP. MethodsAll consecutive patients who underwent PHP for blunt liver trauma from 1998 to 2019 in our Level I trauma center were included in the study. Unstable patients with severe liver trauma were transferred to the operating room without any delay, and a collective decision was made to perform abbreviated laparotomy to pack the liver. Demographics, perioperative data, postoperative outcomes, and mortality were retrospectively collected, and survivors and deceased patients were compared with a paired t-test. ResultsFifty-nine patients of 206 patients admitted with severe liver injuries were treated with shortened PHP. Thirty-four (57.6%) patients died, including 26 (76.5%) within the first 24 h. Twelve (20.3%) patients had a selective hepatic embolization and eight (13.6%) had an extrahepatic embolization. Forty-eight patients had an extra abdominal associated injury. This was not a predictive factor of mortality. The removal of packing was performed in 24 patients within 72 h after laparotomy, with an 80% survival rate in these patients. ConclusionShortened PHP is an effective strategy for controlling liver bleeding in severe hepatic trauma. The mortality rate of these patients is high, but after the removal of packing, the survival is good.

Embolización terapéutica selectiva en el insulinoma maligno

A case is reported of a patient with hypoglycemia episodes secondary to a large sized malignant insulinoma with metastases to the liver. For the control of hypoglycemic episodes, both diet and octreotide were initially used but the response obtained was poor. Later, oral diazoxide was used and a good initial response was obtained but treatment was stopped due to severe adverse effects. To obtain a decrease in the tumoral size both adrimaycin and streptozotocin were administered but results were unsuccessful. Finally, embolization of the right hepatic artery was performed and no further hypoglycemic episodes occurred during the following 14 months. We conclude that selective hepatic embolization is a good therapeutic option to control hypoglycemic episodes in malignant insulinoma with metastases to the liver when other therapeutic options have proved unsuccessful.