Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is associated with high morbidity. The Quality of Life (QoL) assessment in this patient group with a limited life expectancy and high recurrence rate is important. Published data show an impairment of postoperative Quality of Life at 3 months postoperatively with an improvement over 6-12 months at levels higher than the baseline. Standardized instruments QoL have to be included in clinical trials assessing the efficacy of CRS and HIPEC.

Aim: Evaluation of high resolution linear ultrasound and intra-operative linear contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and its benefit for the detection and characterization of tumor lesions.Material and methods: Twenty patients were investigated preoperatively regarding tumor detection using CT (n = 8) or MRI (n = 12) and image fusion (VNav) (n = 3). All patients had surgery for their hepatic tumor (hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), cholangiocellular carcinoma (CCC), metastasis, and adenoma).Ultrasound was performed intra-operatively first with B-scan using a convex probe. Than multifrequency linear transmitters (6-9 MHz, 6-15 MHz, LOGIQ E9, GE) were applied for B-scan, coulor coded Doppler sonography (CCDS) and Power Doppler followed by dynamic CEUS with Contrast Harmonic Imaging (CHI) after bolus injection of a maximum of 15 mL SonoVue ® .Results: In 9 cases with the use of intra-operative CEUS additional tumor lesions (diameter 4-15 mm) could be detected and were histologically confirmed after surgical resection (7 cases) or intra-operative biopsy (2 cases). Using intraoperative CEUS 64 tumor lesions could be detected compared to 51 tumor lesions detected by preoperative CT or MRI (p < 0.05). Using the 6-15 MHz multifrequency linear transducer with CHI, arterial perfusion of adenomas, neuroendocrine metastases and HCC lesions was detectable. In 3 cases a resection was not achievable. Two of these cases were treated with radio frequency ablation (RFA). The other case had no curable option due to multifocal tumor manifestation.Conclusion: The intra-operative use of high-resolution linear transducer techniques with CEUS offers new diagnostic perspectives for an effective liver surgery.

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