Tissue injury of the remnant liver following radiofrequency-assisted partial hepatectomy

Purpose: To evaluate remnant liver tissue damage in a pig model of radiofrequency (RF)-assisted liver resection employing either the sequential coagulate cut (SCC) Belgrade technique using a monopolar RF electrode or the one using the bipolar Habib-4x device. Methods: Sixteen pigs underwent either a) resection of part of the left lateral and left median hepatic lobes employing the SCC (SCC group), the Habib-4X (H group) or the "crush-clamp" technique (CC group) or b) sham operation (Sham group). Forty-eight hours later, tissue specimens were excised from the right lateral hepatic lobe for histopathological examination and immunohistochemical assessment of tissue injury, mitosis and inflammation. Results: Histopathologic lesions, apoptotic activity, HSP 40 and TNFa expression were more intense, while mitotic activity was less prominent in the SCC group technique compared to H group. Comparison between CC and H groups suggested the pivotal role of partial hepatectomy (PH) per se in the changes noted in H group. Conclusion: The Habib-4X liver resection technique proved to be less injurious in the remnant liver tissue after PH compared to the SCC technique.