Abstract
An Anthron® bypass catheter was used to allow radical surgery for hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancer. Between July 1981 and June 1998, 156 portal vein resections were performed using this catheter for case of hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancer. Sixty-two cases involved total pancreatectomy combined with portal vein (PV) or superior mesenteric vein (SMV) resection. There were 79 cases of pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) combined with PV or SMV resection. This catheter was most commonly used to bypass the SMV to the femoral vein in order to avoid portal congestion. In cases where the hepatic artery was occluded, the mesenteric venous blood was shunted through the umbilical vein or the hepatic hilar portal vein to avoid hepatic ischemia. The duration of the portal bypass ranged from 40 to 502min and the duration of occlusion ranged from 15 to 302 min. This catheter allows ample time for portal vein resection and reconstruction. This catheter was useful in cases of hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancer surgery combined with portal vein resection.
