Preoperative Portal Vein Embolization Alone with Biliary Drainage Compared to a Combination of Simultaneous Portal Vein, Right Hepatic Vein Embolization and Biliary Drainage in Klatskin Tumor.

Objective: To compare estimated future remnant liver (FRL) growth following portal vein embolization or liver venous deprivation (LVD) (combined PVE and right hepatic vein embolization), before surgery for a Klatskin tumor in patients who receive intraoperative biliary drainage or before venous interventional radiology.

Methods: Six patients underwent LVD and six underwent PVE alone before hepatectomy for a Klatskin tumor. Before embolization, the FRL ratio, prothrombin time and bilirubin levels were similar in both groups. The FRL was determined before and 3 weeks after embolization by enhanced CT. PVE was performed with n-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate, and the right hepatic vein was embolized with vascular plugs during the same procedure. Biliary drainage was performed percutaneously or by endoscopy. Post-hepatectomy liver function and duration of hospital stay were assessed.

Results: There were no adverse events. The median FRL ratio was significantly higher following LVD than after PVE 58% (54-71) and 37% (30-44), respectively, p = 0.017. The FRL volume after embolization was 1.6 times higher after LVD than PVE (p = 0.016). Four and five patients were operated in the LVD and PVE groups, respectively. There was a trend toward a shorter median postoperative hospital stay and 90-day mortality in the LVD versus PVE group: 14 versus 44 days, (p = 0.114) and 0 versus two deaths (p = 0.429), respectively.

Conclusions: LVD associated with biliary drainage is safe and results in a better FRL ratio than biliary drainage associated with PVE alone.