Totally laparoscopic associating liver tourniquet and portal vein occlusion for staged hepatectomy combined with simultaneous left hemicolectomy for bilateral liver metastases of the primary colon cancer

BACKGROUND Resection of the liver is often limited to the insufficient future liver remnant (FLR). To address this problem, the modification surgical technique "associating liver tourniquet and portal vein occlusion for staged hepatectomy" (ALTPS) was developed and led to quick hypertrophy in a short interval. In some colorectal cancer patients with multiple and bilobar metastases, the resection of the primary is often protracted immensely to the unpredictable postoperative complications for whom is to be treated with a liver-first approach. To overcome this problem, a simultaneous resection of the primary tumor and totally laparoscopic ALTPS for bilateral liver metastases of the primary colon cancer were performed. CASE SUMMARY A 63-year-old female patient with left colon cancer and synchronous bilateral colorectal liver metastases underwent a totally laparoscopic ALTPS and simultaneous left hemicolectomy because of the small FLR. The operative times were 460 minutes for the first stage and 240 minutes for the second stage without the need for blood transfusions. The recoveries after the first and the second operations were uneventful, and the patient was discharged on postoperative day 11 of the second stage operation. CONCLUSION Our case shows the totally laparoscopic ALTPS and simultaneous left hemicolectomy at step 1 for bilobar liver metastases of the primary colon cancer with no severe postoperative complications. If a resection of the primary tumor does not compromise the split procedure, the combination of pure laparoscopic ALTPS and primary resection is feasible and safe.