Continuous arterial infusion of prostaglandin E(1) via the superior mesenteric artery in the treatment of postoperative liver failure.

Impaired hepatic blood flow is one of the causative factors in postoperative liver failure. To restore the hepatic blood flow in case of hepatic artery interruption (HAI), the effect of continuous arterial infusion of prostaglandin E(1) (PGE(1)), which has a strong vasodilatory effect on vascular smooth muscles, was assessed experimentally and clinically. Twelve pigs underwent ligation and division of the hepatic artery and were divided into 2 groups. In the control group, saline was infused in the superior mesenteric artery (SMA), and in the PGE(1) group, 0.02 microg/kg/min of PGE(1) was infused continuously in the SMA. Hepatic oxygen delivery (HDO(2)) in the control group was 87.8 +/- 8.9 ml/min before HAI and decreased to 43.1 +/- 2.6 ml/min at 60 min after HAI, showing 50.9% decrease by HAI. On the contrary, HDO(2) in the PGE(1) group was 86.7 +/- 9.1 ml/min before HAI and was 76.6 +/- 12.2 ml/min at 60 min after HAI, showing only 11.6% decrease by HAI. Clinically, a 65-year-old female suffering from cholangiocellular carcinoma underwent extended left hepatic lobectomy. At operation, the branch of the hepatic artery to the anterior segment of the liver was ligated, and the right branch of the portal vein became stenotic unavoidably. Postoperatively, severe liver dysfunction developed so that continuous PGE1 infusion in the SMA was initiated at a rate of 0.01 microg/kg/min on the eighth postoperative day and continued for 9 days. Plasma exchange was performed twice concomitantly. Portal venous flow increased from 612 ml/min to 1,192 ml/min, and bile flow from external biliary drainage tube doubled by the PGE(1) infusion. The liver function was ameliorated after PGE(1) infusion.