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ORIGINAL ARTICLES |
From the Departments of Surgery (PJA, AS, DK, LB, PP, YF) and Biostatistics (LBP, MG), Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York.
Correspondence: Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Yuman Fong, MD, Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Ave., New York, NY 10021; Fax: 212-639-4031; E-mail: fongy{at}mskcc.org
| ABSTRACT |
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Methods: Patients who underwent HAIP placement over a 5-year time period were evaluated. Arterial- and catheter-related pump complication rates and pump survival were compared between patients with normal and variant arterial anatomy.
Results: Pumps were placed in 265 patients. Variant anatomy was present in 98 (37%) patients. The presence of variant versus normal anatomy did not increase pump complication rates (8% vs. 4%; P = .18) or decrease pump survival (P = .12). In all patients with an isolated variant right or left hepatic artery (n = 56), ligation of the variant vessel and cannulation of the gastroduodenal artery (GDA) resulted in complete hepatic perfusion and no pump complications. Cannulation of vessels other than the GDA (n = 22) was associated with increased pump complication rates (27% vs. 4%; P = .0001) and decreased pump survival (P = .002).
Conclusions: In this study, HAIP placement in patients with variant anatomy was not associated with increased pump complication rates or decreased pump survival. An optimal strategy for managing variant anatomy is to ligate isolated variant vessels and cannulate the GDA.
Key Words: Liver Perfusion Chemotherapy Anatomy
| INTRODUCTION |
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The technique for pump placement in the setting of normal arterial anatomy has been well described.13 After a cholecystectomy is performed, the common hepatic artery is mobilized 1 cm proximal and distal to the origin of the gastroduodenal artery (GDA). The right gastric artery is then ligated, and an arteriotomy is made in the GDA. The catheter is then carefully inserted up to, but not beyond, the junction of the GDA and common hepatic artery. Finally, after securing the catheter, fluoroscein or methylene blue is injected into the port, and perfusion of the liver is then confirmed.
A variety of techniques for pump placement have been described in the setting of variant arterial anatomy.2,3 Early studies that evaluated the dual-lumen Infusaid pump (Infusaid Corporation, Sharon, MA) described cannulation of both the GDA and variant vessel when either an accessory or replaced hepatic artery was encountered. This technique is no longer feasible because the dual-lumen pump is no longer produced. Others have advocated ligation of the variant vessel and cannulation of the GDA. Although no data have been published regarding the efficacy of this approach, studies have shown significant cross-perfusion of the liver after ligation of the blood supply to one hepatic lobe or segment.4 Additional techniques have also been described for pump placement in patients with variation in the origin of the GDA. When this anatomical variant is encountered, techniques described for catheter insertion include cannulation of the splenic artery, cannulation of the GDA, and cannulation of the hepatic artery.3
The goal of this study was to evaluate whether or not patients with variant arterial anatomy experience increased rates of catheter-related complications after pump placement. In addition, we wanted to identify specific techniques used at our institution for pump placement in patients with variant anatomy and to document the success or failure of these specific techniques.
| METHODS |
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Arterial anatomy was determined in each patient through review of preoperative imaging studies and operative reports. Preoperative imaging studies to define anatomy included both conventional arteriography and computed tomographic arteriography. Presently, the most common study used at our institution is the computed tomography arteriogram, which provides excellent definition of arterial anatomy. Variant hepatic arterial anatomy was recorded as being from the left or right hepatic arterial system, and variant hepatic vessels were further categorized as being accessory or replaced. The origin of the GDA was also recorded. This was categorized as normal when the GDA arose from the common hepatic artery proximal to the takeoff of the left and right hepatic arteries. In this study, variant sites of origin of the GDA included the left hepatic artery, the right hepatic artery, and a trifurcated origin with the left and right hepatic artery.
Patients underwent pump placement either as an isolated operative procedure or in conjunction with a colon resection or liver resection. When a liver resection was performed, the extent of resection was recorded. After insertion of the pump, perfusion of the liver was checked in most cases with a bolus injection through the pump by using either methylene blue or fluoroscein. Perfusion of the liver was also checked after surgery in all patients with a macroaggregated albumin scan. The results of these scans were recorded as normal (complete hepatic perfusion with no extrahepatic perfusion) or abnormal (incomplete hepatic perfusion or extrahepatic perfusion).
All complications related to both the operation and the pump were recorded. Pump-related complications were categorized as pocket, pump, catheter, or arterial. Because the primary goal of this study was to evaluate the influence of anatomical variants on the success of pump placement, only catheter- and arterial-related pump complications were included in the analysis of complications. Pocket complications (pocket seroma, pocket infection, and so on) and pump complications (pump malfunction) were not considered to be influenced by arterial anatomy and were not included in the analysis.
Similarly, in the analysis of pump survival, only catheter- and arterial-related pump complications that resulted in a nonfunctional pump were considered as events. When a pump became nonfunctional secondary to a catheter- or arterial-related pump complication and could not be rendered functional with either an interventional or operative procedure, then an event was recorded. Patients were censored when the pump was functional at last follow-up or was nonfunctional secondary to a pocket or pump complication.
The associations between the catheter-specific pump complications and patient-, tumor-, and treatment-related variables were assessed by using Fishers exact test. Exact logistic regression was used to assess the influence of arterial anatomy and GDA cannulation on catheter complications in a multivariate setting. Catheter-specific pump survival probabilities were estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method and were compared by using the log-rank test.
| RESULTS |
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The median pump follow-up on all patients was 14 months, and the overall 2-year catheter-specific pump survival was 97%. Catheter- or arterial-related complications that rendered the pump initially nonfunctional occurred in 15 cases; however, in 7 of these cases, radiological or surgical intervention was able to render them functional. Therefore, at the time of last follow-up, only eight pumps were nonfunctional secondary to catheter- or arterial-related complications. The one factor associated with decreased pump survival was cannulation of a vessel other than the GDA (log-rank P = .002). Patients with variant anatomy did not experience significantly different pump survival compared with patients with normal anatomy (log-rank P = .12).
The technical approach to patients with variant anatomy was very similar. Patients with isolated variant hepatic arterial vessels, whether accessory or replaced, underwent ligation of the variant vessel and cannulation of the GDA in 52 of the 56 cases, and no catheter- or arterial-related complications were observed (Table 3). A similar approach was also used in patients with isolated variance in the origin of the GDA. Cannulation of the GDA was performed in 23 of the 28 patients, with only 2 patients (9%) experiencing catheter- or arterial-related pump complications. When the GDA arose from one of the hepatic vessels and was used as the vessel for cannulation, ligation was performed of the hepatic vessel distal to the GDA takeoff. In the setting of trifurcated anatomy, hepatic vessels were ligated in only two cases and were not associated with perfusion abnormalities. All three patients with a variant origin of the GDA and who had the splenic artery cannulated experienced catheter-related complications. Extrahepatic perfusion was detected in all three patients on postoperative perfusion scanning.
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| DISCUSSION |
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The success of hepatic arterial chemotherapy is dependent on careful patient selection and surgical expertise in pump placement. The catheter must be inserted so there is adequate distribution of chemotherapy to the entire liver without perfusion of extrahepatic tissues. In addition, the catheter tip must not create significant turbulence in the hepatic artery, or the long-term patency of the catheter and the cannulated artery will be diminished.
Hepatic arterial anatomy is considered normal when the common hepatic artery originates from the celiac axis and the GDA arises from the common hepatic artery before the bifurcation of the right and left hepatic arteries. Anatomical variations of the hepatic arterial supply occur in 30% to 50% of patients in the form of accessory or replaced hepatic arteries (Table 5). These hepatic arterial anomalies pose technical challenges at the time of pump placement, and multiple techniques have been described for placement of hepatic arterial pumps in patients with variant anatomy. These techniques have included side arterial cannulation, cannulation of both the GDA and the accessory/replaced vessel with the use of two pumps or with the use of dual-catheter implantable pumps, and ligation of the variant vessel and cannulation of the GDA.1,7,13,14
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In cases of incomplete perfusion of the liver after ligation of a replaced or accessory left hepatic artery, collateral blood flow will usually develop within 2 to 4 weeks to the hypoperfused lobe of the liver in nearly all patients.18,19 Curley et al.19 identified variant arterial anatomy (replaced and accessory right and left hepatic arteries) in 66 of 180 patients with hepatic arterial infusion devices that was successfully managed with ligation of the variant vessel and single-catheter cannulation of the GDA in all but 1 patient. Incomplete crossover perfusion was identified in seven patients after surgery; repeated perfusion scans performed 2 to 4 weeks after surgery confirmed complete bilobar hepatic perfusion in all cases. In our study, only 1 of 10 patients who underwent ligation of a replaced left hepatic artery was found to have incomplete hepatic perfusion. These results may be secondary to the fact that we do not perform the perfusion scan until just before discharge, which may allow time for crossover perfusion to develop. The median postoperative day on which the scan was performed was day 5.
Overall operative morbidity and pump-related complications were 20% and 12%, respectively, in this study, and patients with variant hepatic arteries were no more likely to experience these complications than those with standard hepatic arterial anatomy. The only patient, anatomical, or technical factor found to significantly correlate with pump-related morbidity was cannulation of an artery other than the GDA. Patients with variant arterial anatomy were more likely to experience pump complications if a vessel other than the GDA was cannulated (28% vs. 4%; P = .001). In addition, patients with variant arterial anatomy who had multiple variant vessels experienced significantly increased pump-related complications as compared with patients with variant anatomy and only a single variant vessel (23% vs. 6%; P = .04).
Our study lends further support to the hypothesis that ligation of the variant hepatic artery and cannulation of the GDA does not adversely affect pump survival. In our analysis, the only factor that correlated significantly with reduced pump survival was cannulation of an artery other than the GDA. Multiple vessel cannulation is rarely indicated in the patient with variant arterial anatomy. Ligation of the variant lobar artery and cannulation of the GDA will result in complete hepatic perfusion via translobar collateral arteries. In this study, this approach resulted in few pump-related complications and excellent pump survival.
In conclusion, the results from this study suggest that patients with variant arterial anatomy do not experience increased rates of pump complications or decreased pump survival. In all patients, cannulation of the GDA will result in excellent pump survival and minimal pump complications. In patients with isolated variant vessels, ligation of the variant vessel and cannulation of the GDA will result in excellent pump survival and minimal pump complications.
| Footnotes |
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Received for publication March 15, 2002. Accepted for publication July 5, 2002.
| REFERENCES |
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