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A 84-year-old man with a surgical history of subtotal gastrectomy for gastric cancer was transferred to our department because of a disorder of consciousness. Septic shock due to obstructive suppurative cholangitis secondary to choledocholithiasis was diagnosed. Anemia was also present, and upper gastrointestinal tract endoscopy revealed blood emerging from the Papilla of Vater. The cause of the anemia was identified as haemobilia. Angiography showed a small aneurysm over the artery on segment 3 (A3). The cause of the haemobilia was suspected to be the bleeding into the biliary tree from this aneurysm. Because the patient's general condition was poor, minimally invasive therapy was needed. Transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) was selected initally. Later, lateral sectionectomy was performed in order to remove the aneurysm on A3. No surgical complication occurred and, after surgery, no haemobilia was identified. In conclusion, a two-stage treatment, namely, surgery following TAE, is recommended for patients in a physically poor condition who have haemobilia due to intrahepatic aneurysm.

Aim: To clarify short- and long-term outcomes of combined resection of liver with major vessels in treating colorectal liver metastases., Methods: Clinicopathologic data were evaluated for 312 patients who underwent 371 liver resections for metastases from colorectal cancer. Twenty-five patients who underwent resection and reconstruction of retrohepatic vena cava, major hepatic veins, or hepatic venous confluence during hepatectomies were compared with other patients, who underwent conventional liver resections., Results: Morbidity was 20% (75/371) and mortality was 0.3% (1/312) in all patients after hepatectomy. Hepatic resection combined with major-vessel resection/reconstruction could be performed with acceptable morbidity (16%) and no mortality. By multivariate analysis, repeat liver resection (relative risk or RR, 5.690; P = 0.0008) was independently associated with resection/reconstruction of major vessels during hepatectomy, as were tumor size exceeding 30 mm (RR, 3.338; P = 0.0292) and prehepatectomy chemotherapy (RR, 3.485; P = 0.0083). When 312 patients who underwent a first liver resection for initial liver metastases were divided into those with conventional resection (n = 296) and those with combined resection of liver and major vessels (n = 16), overall survival and disease-free rates were significantly poorer in the combined resection group than in the conventional resection group (P = 0.02 and P < 0.01, respectively). A similar tendency concerning overall survival was observed for conventional resection (n = 37) vs major-vessel resection combined with liver resection (n = 7) performed as a second resection following liver recurrences (P = 0.09). Combined major-vessel resection at first hepatectomy (not performed; 0.512; P = 0.0394) and histologic major-vessel invasion at a second hepatectomy (negative; 0.057; P = 0.0005) were identified as independent factors affecting survival by multivariate analysis., Conclusion: Hepatic resection including major-vessel resection/reconstruction for colorectal liver metastases can be performed with acceptable operative risk. However, such aggressive approaches are beneficial mainly in patients responding to effective prehepatectomy chemotherapy.