Laparoscopic applications in hepatobiliary surgery

  The lumpectomy technique has been widely practiced in the field of surgery as a mature technique of modern surgery. One of the distinctive features of lumpectomy is that it is minimally invasive and reduces surgical trauma to a great extent, especially in the surgical approach. The lumpectomy technique is based on the use of an endoscope as the basis for peering into the body and using “extended” instruments to perform manual surgery. The lumpectomy technique is based on the use of an endoscope to visualize the internal structures and the use of “extended” instruments to perform the operation. In general, the lumpectomy is a more detailed observation and operation than the conventional operation. However, because of the difficulty in performing more difficult operations with instruments, laparoscopic surgery tends to be more “simple” or simplified.  In hepatobiliary surgery, the most used laparoscopic procedure is cholecystectomy, which has been widely accepted and considered the “gold standard” for gallbladder removal, and there is no longer any debate about the use of laparoscopic cholecystectomy for the surgical treatment of gallbladder stones in non-special cases. The complications of laparoscopic cholecystectomy have been reduced to a very low level among skilled surgeons and are basically the same as those of open cholecystectomy. It is a well-established surgical technique. The focus is on the training of the surgeon, and there is a learning curve for laparoscopic operations, and once this period has passed, the surgical complications can be reduced very quickly.  In patients with gallbladder stones combined with common bile duct stones, laparoscopic choledochotomy using intraoperative choledochoscopy to retrieve the stones is still somewhat controversial because the patient has two options: one is to have both gallbladder stones and bile duct stones treated together through a single laparoscopy; the other is for the patient to have ERCP bile duct retrieval followed by laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Laparoscopic choledochotomy requires a T-tube as well as conventional choledochotomy (in some patients with a loose lower choledochal sphincter, a T-tube may not be placed), but we prefer to place a T-tube because intraoperative choledochoscopy has a residual stone rate of about 10%, especially in patients with combined intrahepatic bile duct stones. The T-tube needs to be taken out after the operation, and then removed after one month for T-tube imaging. For preoperative ERCP and sphincterotomy for stone extraction, followed by laparoscopic cholecystectomy method.  There are some differences between laparoscopic choledochotomy and conventional choledochotomy, mainly to prevent T-tube dislodgement, because laparoscopic suturing of the common bile duct is sometimes not tight enough and can easily cause T-tube dislodgement. In our hospital, the incidence of this type of surgery is 1/32, so special attention should be paid to the placement of the T-tube during the operation and to the pulling of the T-tube when the operation is about to be completed to remove the stones from the gallbladder. In addition, laparoscopic surgery is less irritating to the abdominal cavity and does not easily form abdominal adhesions to form fibrous sinus tracts around the T-tube, so the time to remove the T-tube must be sufficient (more than one month before surgery).  Laparoscopic surgery on the liver mainly refers to laparoscopic partial hepatectomy and laparoscopic radiofrequency ablation of tumors. Radiofrequency thermal ablation is a minimally invasive tumor in situ treatment technique that generates high temperature in the local tissue of the lesion through radiofrequency energy, drying and eventually coagulating and inactivating soft tissues and tumors. In liver radiofrequency thermal ablation root attention to its radiofrequency thermal effect, because in the treatment to produce a lot of heat energy. The thermal effect of radiofrequency ablation treatment patients will experience profuse sweating, hemoglobinuria and thrombosis. Since laparoscopic radiofrequency ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma produces almost no abdominal adhesions after treatment, the treatment itself has little impact on liver function, so it can be repeated in a planned manner.  Laparoscopic hepatectomy can make the patient less painful because laparoscopy does not require open surgery. The problems of laparoscopic hemostasis and prevention of lethal air embolism into the great vessels have not been solved due to the laparoscopic technique. The risk of laparoscopic liver resection is still very high, especially for hemostasis when cutting the liver, which is still stuck on general instruments like titanium clamps and ultrasonic knife, and the poor hemostatic effect on the liver cannot be safely performed for large pieces of liver resection. Further improvement of laparoscopic instruments is still needed. At present, we are still in the process of partial hepatectomy for hepatic marginal tumors, and the technique of laparoscopic hepatectomy is still being explored.  In recent years, the incidence of pancreatic cancer has been on the rise, and despite the increase in the scope of surgical resection and partial vascular resection and transplantation, the postoperative survival rate of patients has not improved significantly. Nowadays, adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy basically cannot prolong the survival time of patients. In patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, laparoscopic radioactive particle placement or radiofrequency ablation with ERCP biliary support can be a promising procedure, which can treat pancreatic cancer locally without increasing the patient’s pain.  Laparoscopic pancreatic cancer radioactive particle implantation is selected for patients with large advanced pancreatic tumors, tumors larger than 4 cm in diameter, and no large blood vessels or dilated pancreatic ducts passing through the central location of the tumor. No distant metastasis was found upon examination. The radioactive particles were made of solid iodine-125, encapsulated with titanium alloy, and no leakage of radioactive material would occur. The radioactive particles have a half-life of 59 days and are effective in killing cancer cells in vivo for six months to one year. The particles can be quantitatively and directionally implanted inside the tumor. The particles are inserted at 18 G. During laparoscopic surgery, the gastrocolic omentum is incised with an ultrasonic knife to expose the pancreatic tumor. The radiation particles are then implanted according to the radiation plan, usually 15-25 particles. After implantation of radioactive particles, abdominal drainage is required to prevent pancreatic leakage. The procedure is relatively simple and can avoid open abdominal surgery, shorten the hospital stay and reduce the pain associated with abdominal incision.  Laparoscopic radiofrequency ablation of pancreatic cancer: The method is the same as particle implantation, but the key is to fully expose the pancreatic tumor. It is easier to expose the tumor in the tail of the pancreas, while it is more difficult to expose the tumor in the head of the pancreas because there are more blood vessels. The head of the pancreas has mesenteric vessels passing through it, so extra care should be taken when doing puncture. Intraoperative ultrasound localization of the tumor is very important and it is difficult to achieve precise localization of the tumor. The principle of treatment is to penetrate inside the tumor and not to exceed the tumor boundary, which can easily cause pancreatic leakage or damage to large blood vessels. Whether radiofrequency ablation and radioactive particle implantation for pancreatic cancer have much effect on pancreatic cancer, there is still a lack of large number of case comparisons and long-term follow-up. However, it has been observed that the pain in the low back of advanced pancreatic cancer is significantly reduced after radiofrequency ablation. This may be helpful for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer that cannot be surgically resected.  In conclusion, in the field of hepatobiliary surgery, the number of laparoscopic procedures will continue to increase, and laparoscopic resection of the tail of the pancreatic body and spleen has become a definitive procedure, and laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy has recently been performed in several hospitals in China. As the technology continues to improve more complex surgeries can be done laparoscopically, and now we are watching the clinical application of laparoscopic robots or manipulators, which will be able to perform more delicate movements and more complex surgical operations under laparoscopy than open ones.