Liver Preservation by Aortic Perfusion Alone Compared With Preservation by Aortic Perfusion and Additional Arterial Ex Situ Back-Table Perfusion With Histidine-Tryptophan-Ketoglutarate Solution: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled, Multicenter Study.

Background. Arterial ex situ back-table perfusion (BP) reportedly reduces ischemic-type biliary lesion after liver transplantation. We aimed to verify these findings in a prospective investigation. Methods. Our prospective, randomized, controlled, multicenter study involved livers retrieved from patients in 2 German regions, and compared the outcomes of standard aortic perfusion to those of aortic perfusion combined with arterial ex situ BP. The primary endpoint was the incidence of ischemic-type biliary lesions over a follow-up of 2 years after liver transplantation, whereas secondary endpoints included 2-year graft survival, initial graft damage as reflected by transaminase levels, and fu…

Water Infusion for Cecal Intubation Increases Patient Tolerance, but Does Not Improve Intubation of Unsedated Colonoscopies

Background & Aims Several studies have indicated that water infusion, instead of air insufflation, enhances cecal intubation in selected patients undergoing unsedated colonoscopy. We performed a prospective, randomized, controlled trial to investigate whether the water technique increases the proportion of patients that are able to complete unsedated colonoscopy. Methods We analyzed data from 116 consecutive outpatients who were willing to start colonoscopy without sedation; 58 were each randomly assigned to groups given water infusion or air insufflation during the insertion phase. Sedation and analgesia were administered on demand. Results Fewer patients requested sedation in the water gr…

Metallothionein overexpression and its prognostic relevance in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and extrahepatic hilar cholangiocarcinoma (Klatskin tumors)

Metallothionein is a group of small molecular weight cysteine-rich proteins with a broad variety of functions. Metallothionein has been shown to regulate apoptosis and proliferation. Overexpression of metallothionein frequently occurs in human tumors and is related to prognosis as well as therapy response. However, metallothionein expression and its clinical relevance in cholangiocarcinoma have not been investigated. The present study aimed to analyze metallothionein over-expression and its possible prognostic impact in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and hilar extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (Klatskin tumors). We investigated the relationship of immunohistochemically demonstrated metalloth…

Liver transplantation as a primary indication for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: a single-center experience.

Abstract Background Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is not a widely accepted indication for orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). The present study describes our institutional experience with patients who underwent transplantation for ICC as well as those with ICC who underwent transplantation with the incorrect diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Patients and Methods Data corresponding to ICC patients were reviewed for the purposes of this study. Patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma and incidentally found ICC after OLT for benign diseases were excluded from further consideration. Results Among the 10 patients, 6 underwent transplantation before 1996 and 4 after 2001. Tho…

Partial or complete mesohepatectomy combined with resection of the hilar bifurcation in cases of Klatskin tumors: a reasonable strategy?