Treatment of colorectal cancer with synchronous bilobar liver metastases with simultaneous bowel and liver resection plus radiofrequency ablation

Abstract

Patients with synchronous bilobar colorectal liver metastases usually have an extent or distribution of the metastases that precludes curative resection. Recently radiofrequency ablation has been proved to safely control liver metastases but a combination of radiofrequency ablation with more than liver resection is rarely performed. We report two patients with colorectal primary and synchronous classically unresectable bilobar liver metastases treated with a combination of bowel and liver resection plus radiofrequency ablation. In the first patient we performed left colectomy, left hepatic lobectomy and radiofrequency ablation of lesions in segments I and VII. In the second patient we performed low anterior resection, wedge resections for three superficially placed lesions in segments V and VIII, and radiofrequency ablation of five more deeply located lesions in segments III, IV, VI and VII. Both patients recovered uneventfully. At the eighth month, the first patient developed three new liver metastases that were treated with subsequent radiofrequency ablation and at the tenth and seventh months of follow-up respectively, both patients are disease free. In conclusion, combination of bowel and liver resection plus radiofrequency ablation expands the possibilities to treat more patients with colorectal cancer having synchronous bilobar unresectable liver metastases.