Assessment of Liver Function Using 99mTc-Mebrofenin Hepatobiliary Scintigraphy in ALPPS (Associating Liver Partition and Portal Vein Ligation for Staged Hepatectomy)

ALPPS (associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy) is a new surgical technique for patients in whom conventional treatment is not feasible due to insufficient future remnant liver (FRL). During the first stage of ALPPS, accelerated hypertrophy of the FRL is induced by ligation of the portal vein and in situ split of the liver. In the second stage, the deportalized liver is removed when the FRL volume has reached ≥25% of total liver volume. However, FRL volume does not necessarily reflect FRL function. (99m)Tc-mebrofenin hepatobiliary scintigraphy (HBS) with SPECT-CT is a quantitative test enabling regional assessment of parenchymal uptake function using a validated cut-off value for the prediction of postoperative liver failure (2.7%/min/m(2)). This paper describes the changes in FRL function and FRL volume in a 79-year-old patient diagnosed with metachronous colonic liver metastases who underwent ALPPS. We have observed a substantial difference between the increase in FRL volume and FRL function suggesting that HBS with SPECT-CT enables monitoring of the FRL function and could be a useful tool in the timing of resection in the second stage of the ALPPS procedure.