Laparoscopic first stage of ALPPS for hepatoblastoma in an infant

Radical tumor removal remains the key task in hepatoblastoma surgery. Patients who need extended resection and have a risk of posthepatectomy liver failure are particularly difficult. In cases with insufficient future liver volume, the method of choice is a two-staged hepatectomy or liver transplantation. Despite the wide spread of laparoscopic liver surgery in adults, the minimally invasive approach has not been studied in pediatrics, and the literature on this issue is scarce. In current publication a case of successful partial associating liver partition with portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS) in a child, firstly accomplished pure laparoscopically. Described experience suggests the feasibility of laparoscopic liver resections in children and effectiveness of partial in situ liver splitting to reach appropriate future liver remnant volume and to avoid liver transplantation and its disadvantages.