Vascular occlusion to decrease blood loss during hepatic resection.

BACKGROUND Historically, the primary hazard with liver surgery has been intraoperative blood loss. This led to the refinement of inflow and outflow occlusive techniques. The utility of the different methods of inflow and outflow techniques for hepatic surgery were reviewed. METHODS A search of the English literature (Medline, Embase, Cochrane library, Cochrane clinical trials registry, hand searches, and bibliographic reviews) using the terms "liver," "hepatic," "Pringle," "total vascular exclusion," "ischemia," "reperfusion," "inflow," and "outflow occlusion" was performed. RESULTS A multitude of techniques to minimize blood loss during hepatic resection have been studied. The evidence suggests that inflow occlusion techniques are generally well tolerated. These should be used with caution in patients with cirrhosis, fibrosis, steatosis, cholestasis, and recent chemotherapy, and for prolonged time intervals. CONCLUSIONS Harmful effects of intraoperative blood loss and transfusion occur during hepatic resection. Portal triad clamping (PTC) is associated with less blood loss compared with no clamping. In procedures with ischemic times <1 hour in length, PTC-C (continuous) is likely equal to PTC-I (intermittent). In patients with chronic liver disease or undergoing lengthy operations, PTC-I is likely superior to PTC-C. PTC is superior to total vascular exclusion except in patients with tumors that are large and deep seated, hypervascular, and/or abutting the hepatic veins or vena cava and in patients with increased right-sided heart pressures.