What is the ALPPS procedure?
The associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy procedure (ALPPS) is a two-part liver surgery that treats liver cancer and metastasis. This procedure takes advantage of the ability of the liver to regenerate. When the patient has disease in both lobes of the liver and not enough healthy liver will remain after a conventional resection, then this staged procedure is utilized.
In the first stage, the disease is removed from the future liver remnant, the portal vein to the healthy liver is maintained and litigated two the side that will be removed. This first stage is followed by a waiting period of at least seven to 10 days and the liver remnant is reassessed. If it has grown to a large enough size, then the second stage is performed where the diseased liver is removed.
Teh ALPPS procedure can be done laparoscopically with robotic assistance if all of the disease can be removed. This minimizes the postoperative recovery and allows the patient to go home between the procedures.
What should I expect after the ALPPS procedure?
The results of this surgery vary depending on the health of the patient and the aggressiveness and extent of the underlying disease process. Operations that require reconstruction of the liver bile outflow carry a higher morbidity because this joint can leak or narrow down.