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Background: The aim was to analyse the impact of cirrhosis on short-term outcomes after laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) in a multicentre national cohort study., Methods: This retrospective study included all patients undergoing LLR in 27 centres between 2000 and 2017. Cirrhosis was defined as F4 fibrosis on pathological examination. Short-term outcomes of patients with and without liver cirrhosis were compared after propensity score matching by centre volume, demographic and tumour characteristics, and extent of resection., Results: Among 3150 patients included, LLR was performed in 774 patients with (24·6 per cent) and 2376 (75·4 per cent) without cirrhosis. Severe complication and mortality rates in patients with cirrhosis were 10·6 and 2·6 per cent respectively. Posthepatectomy liver failure (PHLF) developed in 3·6 per cent of patients with cirrhosis and was the major cause of death (11 of 20 patients). After matching, patients with cirrhosis tended to have higher rates of severe complications (odds ratio (OR) 1·74, 95 per cent c.i. 0·92 to 3·41; P = 0·096) and PHLF (OR 7·13, 0·91 to 323·10; P = 0·068) than those without cirrhosis. They also had a higher risk of death (OR 5·13, 1·08 to 48·61; P = 0·039). Rates of cardiorespiratory complications (P = 0·338), bile leakage (P = 0·286) and reoperation (P = 0·352) were similar in the two groups. Patients with cirrhosis had a longer hospital stay than those without (11 versus 8 days; P = 0·018). Centre expertise was an independent protective factor against PHLF in patients with cirrhosis (OR 0·33, 0·14 to 0·76; P = 0·010)., Conclusion: Underlying cirrhosis remains an independent risk factor for impaired outcomes in patients undergoing LLR, even in expert centres., (© 2020 BJS Society Ltd Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: The significance of positive para-aortic nodes in patients with resectable pancreatic carcinoma is unclear. This study sought to evaluate the accuracy of intraoperative detection and prognostic significance of these lymph nodes in patients with resected adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic head., Methods: From 2000 to 2010, para-aortic node sampling was performed prospectively in all patients before pancreatoduodenectomy. Frozen sections were created and nodes categorized as positive or negative for metastases. Surgeons were blinded to the frozen-section results. This was followed by standard histopathological assessment of corresponding paraffin-embedded, haematoxylin and eosin-stained material. Nodes considered uninvolved by this analysis were examined immunohistochemically for micrometastases., Results: A total of 111 consecutive patients were included, with a median follow-up of 20·8 (range 1·5-126) months. The 1-, 2- and 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 73·6, 54·0 and 24·7 per cent, and 51·8, 28·1 and 18·8 per cent respectively. Para-aortic node involvement was always associated with peripancreatic lymph node metastasis, and was detected by frozen-section analysis in 12 patients and by haematoxylin and eosin staining in 17. Sensitivity and specificity of frozen-section examination for detecting para-aortic lymph node metastases were 71 and 100 per cent respectively. Median OS for patients with and without para-aortic node involvement on frozen-section analysis was 9·7 versus 28·5 months respectively (P = 0·012), and 15·7 versus 27·2 months (P = 0·050) when assessed by haematoxylin and eosin staining. Median DFS for patients with and without para-aortic node involvement on frozen-section examination was 5·6 versus 12·9 months respectively (P = 0·041), and 8·4 versus 12·9 months (P = 0·038) for haematoxylin and eosin analysis. The presence of micrometastases in para-aortic nodes was not significantly associated with altered OS or DFS., Conclusion: Para-aortic node sampling with frozen-section examination detects distant lymphatic involvement reliably. It should be performed systematically. When metastases are found, they should be considered a contraindication to pancreatic resection., (© 2014 BJS Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) are at risk for adenomas and cancers in the duodenum but the ideal management of duodenal polyposis remains uncertain., Methods: The outcome of surgical resection was analysed in 18 patients with FAP who had severe duodenal polyposis., Results: Duodenotomy and clearance of duodenal adenomas was performed seven times in six patients. There were two duodenal leaks and, after a mean follow-up of 53 (range 36-72) months, duodenal adenomas recurred in all patients and five had severe polyposis. Pancreatoduodenectomy was performed in seven patients with severe duodenal polyposis. Histology of the specimens revealed two unsuspected duodenal carcinomas at an early stage. After a mean follow-up of 42 months all patients were alive and well, and there was no case of jejunal polyposis. Pancreatoduodenectomy was attempted in five patients with duodenal cancer and only one survived more than 4 years., Conclusion: Surgical excision of duodenal adenomas should be discussed before carcinoma occurs. Surgical polypectomy fails to guarantee a polyp-free duodenum and carries a risk of postoperative complications whereas pancreatoduodenectomy eliminates the risk of duodenal cancer with an acceptable morbidity rate. Pancreatoduodenectomy could be offered to some patients with large or multiple villous duodenal adenomas repeatedly showing severe dysplasia.

Aim: The aim of this study was to analyse characteristics of patients who survived more than 5 years after liver resection of colorectal metastases., Methods: A multicentre retrospective study collected 1818 patients who underwent curative resection of hepatic metastases between 1959 and 1991. Among the 747 patients operated on before 1987, 102 survived longer than 5 years, and were compared with patients who survived less than 5 years., Results: Three risk factors proved independently significant in multivariate analysis between the two groups: serosa infiltration (P = 0.003), involvement of peritumoral lymph nodes around the primary colorectal tumour (P = 0.04), and a liver resection margin of less than 1 cm (P = 0.02). There was no significant difference for other parameters studied (location of primary tumour, location, number and size of metastases, type of resection). A trend towards a shorter survival of patients with increased carcinoembryonic antigen serum level was observed., Conclusion: Resection of colorectal hepatic metastases can provide long-term survival even in patients with poor prognostic factors. It seems justified to undertake resection of colorectal liver metastases whenever it may be performed safely as a curative treatment.