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Long-term results of hepatic resection for hepatolithiasis in 34 patients having intrahepatic biliary strictures were studied. The left lateral and the right posterior segmental ducts were commonly and often simultaneously involved. Fourteen patients had multiple segmental involvement. Hepatic resection included left sided resection (n=27), right sided resection (n=6), and repeated bilateral resection (n=1). Seven patients had biliary tumors: 3 cholangiocarcinomas, 2 gall bladder cancers, cystadenocarcinoma, and dysplasia of intrahepatic ducts. Nineteen patients received bilioenteric anastomosis. Retained stones and recurrent stones developed in 3 and 4 patients, respectively. Twenty-six patients had no remaining symptoms; 2 died of operative complication or cholangiocarcinoma; 6 presented symptoms caused by retained stones (n=2), recurrent stones (n=2), bile stasis (n=1), or neuralgia (n=1). In 4 of the 6 patients, unrelieved posterior duct strictures caused the symptoms. With a mean follow-up period of 4.5 years, 30 patients are symptoms free, and 27 are stone free. In patients with right lobar or bilobar type, intra- and extrahepatic type, and confluence strictures, bilioenteric anastomosis is required. Hepatic resection is a rational treatment for hepatolithiasis, however, meticulous management of biliary tract abnormalities, particularly the posterior duct stricture, is mandatory.

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We report herein the first known case of early gastric cancer with synchronous liver metastasis forming a portal tumorous embolism. A 62-year-old man was found to have multiple liver tumors and a portal tumorous embolism by ultrasonography. A gastroscopy subsequently showed Borrmann type III-like gastric cancer in the antrum. His carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 level was elevated to 8280 U/ml, but the alpha-fetoprotein level was within normal limits. A laparotomy revealed multiple liver metastasis and subpyrolic lymph-node enlargement; a distal partial gastrectomy with group 1 lymph-node dissection for the gastric cancer in the antrum, and cannulation of the proper hepatic artery for postoperative chemotherapy were performed. Histopathologically, the cancer was found to be a medullary type well-differentiated adenocarcinoma. Subpyrolic lymph node metastasis was noted, but cancer invasion was localized to only the mucosal and submucosal layers of the stomach. Thus, the patient was diagnosed as having early gastric cancer. Adjuvant chemotherapy given through the cannula suppressed further elevation of CA19-9 levels, and a total of 26 Gy irradiation to a liver tumor, which had caused ascites by pressing on the inferior vena cava, diminished the ascites. The patient was able to remain at home with treatment for 7 months after radiation therapy, but finally died of cancer with jaundice 13 months after his operation. Therefore, although adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy contributed to improving his quality of life, it could not prolong survival.

In an 83-year-old Japanese man, concomitant bleeding colon cancer, early gastric cancer, and an expanding right common iliac artery aneurysm were evident. The patient underwent an artificial graft implantation, partial gastrectomy, and transverse colectomy, simultaneously. To protect against graft infection, the aneurysm was resected first, and then the retroperitoneum was tightly closed to isolate the graft from the peritoneal cavity. The postoperative course was uneventful, except for symptoms of temporary delirium. Recently, simultaneous surgery for concomitant abdominal aortic aneurysms and early gastric cancer has been commonly performed in Japan because the contamination of the peritoneal cavity during a gastrectomy is thought to be less severe than that during lower abdominal surgery. However, the positive rate for bacterial culture in colorectal resections is virtually the same as that in gastrectomies. Moreover, the incidence of graft infection is substantially lower than the positive rate for bacterial culture in surgery for aneurysms. Some surgeons object to a simultaneous resection due to fear of graft infection, but even the presence of infectious organisms does not always result in graft infection. The present case illustrates the benefits of a simultaneous operation for both an aneurysm and gastrointestinal malignancy.