Is hepatic artery coil embolization useful in distal pancreatectomy with en bloc celiac axis resection for locally advanced pancreatic cancer?

BACKGROUND: The exact contribution of preoperative coil embolization in distal pancreatectomy with en bloc celiac axis resection (DP-CAR) for the prevention of ischemic liver complication is not fully elucidated. METHODS: From January 2004 to July 2015, 31 patients underwent DP-CAR for the pancreatic body–tail cancer. Twenty-three patients received preoperative coil embolization. The characteristics and operative outcomes were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: The median survival time and 1- and 3-year overall survival rates were 23.7 months and 74.2% and 34.4%, respectively. No 30-day mortality occurred in any of the patients. Postoperative liver infarction developed only in 8 patients (25.8%) even though 7 of 8 patients had undergone preoperative coil embolization. Tumor contact with the gastroduodenal artery (GDA)/proper hepatic artery (PHA) on preoperative multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT), tumor size, operative time, portal vein resection, and stenosis of the GDA/PHA after DP-CAR are related to liver infarction. Among them, postoperative stenosis of the GDA/PHA on MDCT, which was observed in all 8 patients with liver infarction, was the most closely related factor to postoperative liver infarction. Tumor contact with the GDA/PHA did not worsen the R0 resection rate or overall survival rate. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that preoperative coil embolization of the common hepatic artery is not useful in DP-CAR as long as GDA is completely preserved during surgery.