BACKGROUND: Artificial intelligence (AI) models have been applied in various medical imaging modalities and surgical disciplines, however the current status and progress of ultrasound-based AI models within hepatopancreatobiliary surgery have not been evaluated in literature. Therefore, this review aimed to provide an overview of ultrasound-based AI models used for hepatopancreatobiliary surgery, evaluating current advancements, validation, and predictive accuracies.
METHODS: Databases PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, and Web of Science were searched for studies using AI models on ultrasound for patients undergoing hepatopancreatobiliary surgery. To be eligible for inclusion, studies needed to apply AI methods on ultrasound imaging for patients undergoing hepatopancreatobiliary surgery. The Probast risk of bias tool was used to evaluate the methodological quality of AI methods.
RESULTS: AI models have been primarily used within hepatopancreatobiliary surgery, to predict tumor recurrence, differentiate between tumoral tissues, and identify lesions during ultrasound imaging. Most studies have combined radiomics with convolutional neural networks, with AUCs up to 0.98.
CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasound-based AI models have demonstrated promising accuracies in predicting early tumoral recurrence and even differentiating between tumoral tissue types during and after hepatopancreatobiliary surgery. However, prospective studies are required to evaluate if these results will remain consistent and externally valid.

Portal vein arterialization (PVA) is a surgical procedure that plays a crucial role in hepatic vascular salvage when hepatic artery flow restoration remains elusive. Dedicated diagnostic vascular imaging and the timely management of PVA shunts are paramount to preventing complications, such as portal hypertension and thrombosis. Regrettably, a lack of standardized postoperative management protocols for PVA has increased morbidity and mortality rates post-procedure. In response to this challenge, we developed a PVA standard operating procedure (SOP) tailored to the needs of interventional radiologists. This SOP is designed to harmonize postoperative care, fostering scientific comparability across cases. This concise brief report aims to offer radiologists valuable insights into the PVA technique and considerations for post-PVA care and foster effective interdisciplinary collaboration.

Introduction The prognostic significance of the controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score in hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) surgery has been shown by many studies but the clinical significance of the CONUT score for postoperative short-term outcomes remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate the impact of the CONUT score on early postoperative outcomes in patients following major HPB surgery. Method This was a prospective study of 57 patients who underwent major HPB surgery from November 2019 to January 2021 at the Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Nepal. Result A total of 57 patients, 25 males and 32 females, were operated on. The number of patients assigned to the normal, mild, and moderate malnutrition groups was 13, 41, and 3, respectively. The high CONUT group (CONUT ³ 2) consisted of 44 patients (77%) and the low CONUT group (CONUT <2) consisted of 13 patients (33%). The overall complications (Clavien-Dindo classification ³1) and major complications (Clavien-Dindo classification ³3) were present in 37 patients (64.9%) and 14 patients (24.6%), respectively. Increased operative time and intraoperative blood loss were associated with an increased incidence of major (OR: 1.01, p: 0.018) and overall (OR: 1.006, p: 0.039) postoperative complications, respectively, in univariate analysis. A high CONUT score was not associated with a higher incidence of overall and major postoperative complications. Conclusion In our study, the preoperative CONUT score did not predict the postoperative morbidity following hepatopancreatobiliary surgery.

BACKGROUND: Centralization of hepatopancreatobiliary procedures to more experienced centers has been recommended but remains controversial. Hospital volume and risk-stratified mortality rates (RSMR) are metrics for interhospital comparison. We compared facility operative volume with facility RSMR as a proxy for hospital quality.
METHODS: Patients who underwent surgery for liver (LC), biliary tract (BTC), and pancreatic (PDAC) cancer were identified in the National Cancer Database (2004-2018). Hierarchical logistic regression was used to create facility-specific models for RSMR. Volume (high versus low) was determined by quintile. Performance (high versus low) was determined by RSMR tercile. Primary outcomes included median facility RSMR and RSMR distributions. Volume- and RSMR-based redistribution was simulated and compared for reductions in 90-day mortality.
RESULTS: A total of 106,217 patients treated at 1282 facilities were included; 17,695 had LC, 23,075 had BTC, and 65,447 had PDAC. High-volume centers (HVC) had lower RSMR compared with medium-volume centers and low-volume centers for LC, BTC, and PDAC (all p < 0.001). High-performance centers (HPC) had lower RSMR compared with medium-performance centers and low-performance centers for LC, BTC, and PDAC (all p < 0.001). Volume-based redistribution required 16.0 patients for LC, 11.2 for BTC, and 14.9 for PDAC reassigned to 15, 22, and 20 centers, respectively, per life saved within each US census region. RSMR-based redistribution required 4.7 patients for LC, 4.2 for BTC, and 4.9 for PDAC reassigned to 316, 403, and 418 centers, respectively, per life saved within each US census region.
CONCLUSIONS: HVC and HPC have the lowest overall and risk-standardized 90-day mortality after oncologic hepatopancreatobiliary procedures, but RSMR may outperform volume as a measure of hospital quality.

The technology of three-dimensional (3D) printing emerged in the late 1970s and has since undergone considerable development to find numerous applications in mechanical engineering, industrial design, and biomedicine. In biomedical science, several studies have initially found that 3D printing technology can play an important role in the treatment of diseases in hepatopancreatobiliary surgery. For example, 3D printing technology has been applied to create detailed anatomical models of disease organs for preoperative personalized surgical strategies, surgical simulation, intraoperative navigation, medical training, and patient education. Moreover, cancer models have been created using 3D printing technology for the research and selection of chemotherapy drugs. With the aim to clarify the development and application of 3D printing technology in hepatopancreatobiliary surgery, we introduce seven common types of 3D printing technology and review the status of research and application of 3D printing technology in the field of hepatopancreatobiliary surgery.
3D打印技术兴起于20世纪70年代末，经历长期的发展后，在机械工程、工业设计和生物医学领域得到了广泛的应用。在生物医学领域，多项研究初步发现3D打印技术可在肝胆胰外科相关疾病的治疗中发挥重要作用。例如，3D打印技术已被应用于创建疾病器官的详细解剖模型，用于术前制定个性化手术策略、手术模拟、术中导航、医师培训和患者教育。此外，还可利用3D打印技术创建癌症模型，用于化疗药物的研究和选择。为了阐明3D打印技术在肝胆胰外科领域的发展和应用现状，本文介绍了七种常见的3D打印技术，并对3D打印技术在肝胆胰外科领域的研究和应用现状进行了综述。.

UNASSIGNED: Surgical site infection (SSI) is a significant cause of postoperative morbidity resulting in an increased hospital stay and cost. Various measures have been used to predict SSI such as subcutaneous fat thickness (SCFT) and abdominal depth (AD) in case of abdominal surgeries. The objective of the study was to compare SCFT with AD to predict SSI in HPB surgeries.
UNASSIGNED: A prospective observational study was conducted from February 2020 to February 2021, which included 76 patients who underwent elective open hepatopancreatobiliary surgeries. SCFT and AD at the level of the umbilicus were measured preoperatively using the computed tomography abdomen. The occurrence of SSI was evaluated in correlation with SCFT and AD. SCFT and AD were compared using the receiver operating characteristic curve for prediction of SSI.
UNASSIGNED: Twenty-five (32.3%) patients who underwent elective HPB surgeries developed SSI. 72% of the SSI were superficial. In multivariate analysis, only SCFT was associated with SSI, which was statistically significant. It was compared with AD using the receiver operating characteristic curve where SCFT proved to be better at predicting SSI (AUC=0.884) with cut-off =2.13 cm, sensitivity 84%, and specificity 86%), compared to AD with an AUC of 0.449.
UNASSIGNED: SSI is the common cause of increased morbidity following hepato-pancreato-biliary surgeries with risk factors including SCFT and AD. Approximately one-third of patient developed SSI, with most the common being superficial SSI. SCFT at the incision site was associated with an increased rate of SSI and the better predictor for SSI as compared with the AD.

Laparoscopic and robotic-assisted approaches to hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) operations have expanded worldwide. As surgeons and medical centers contemplate initiating and expanding minimally invasive surgical (MIS) programs for complex HPB surgical operations, there are many factors to consider. This review highlights the key components of developing an MIS HPB program and shares our recent institutional experience with the adoption and expansion of an MIS approach to pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Hepatopancreatobiliary surgery belongs to one of the most complex fields of general surgery. An intricate and vital anatomy is accompanied by difficult distinctions of tumors from fibrosis and inflammation; the identification of precise tumor margins; or small, even disappearing, lesions on currently available imaging. The routine implementation of ultrasound use shifted the possibilities in the operating room, yet more precision is necessary to achieve negative resection margins. Modalities utilizing fluorescent-compatible dyes have proven their role in hepatopancreatobiliary surgery, although this is not yet a routine practice, as there are many limitations. Modalities, such as photoacoustic imaging or 3D holograms, are emerging but are mostly limited to preclinical settings. There is a need to identify and develop an ideal contrast agent capable of differentiating between malignant and benign tissue and to report on the prognostic benefits of implemented intraoperative imaging in order to navigate clinical translation. This review focuses on existing and developing imaging modalities for intraoperative use, tailored to the needs of hepatopancreatobiliary cancers. We will also cover the application of these imaging techniques to theranostics to achieve combined diagnostic and therapeutic potential.

COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted healthcare systems worldwide, causing the postponement or cancellation of millions of elective surgeries. It is essential for hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) surgeons to well understand the perioperative risk and management of HPB surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the impact of preoperative COVID-19 infection and timing of surgery, the impact of COVID-19 infection on postoperative mortality, the postoperative pulmonary complications in patients with perioperative COVID-19 infection, and the postoperative complications without pulmonary involvement. Perioperative COVID-19 infection increases the risk of postoperative mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing abdominal surgery. Furthermore, in some regions, the COVID-19 vaccine\'s availability is still limited, leading to an increase in the number of cases and potential medical collapse, which could hinder the improvement of HPB postoperative mortality rates. The timing of surgery for COVID-19 positive patients should be carefully considered, balancing the potential risks of delay with the risks of surgery during the infection.

This study aims to identify the objective findings of haemoglobin (Hb) drift in patients that had a Whipple\'s procedure in the last 10 years, their transfusion status intraoperatively and post-operatively, the potential factors affecting Hb drift, and the outcomes following Hb drift.
A retrospective study was conducted at Northern Health, Melbourne. All adult patients who were admitted for a Whipple\'s procedure from 2010 to 2020 were included and information collected retrospectively for demographics, pre-operative, operative and post-operative details.
A total of 103 patients were identified. The median Hb drift calculated from a Hb level at the end of operation was 27.0 g/L (IQR 18.0-34.0), and 21.4% of patients received a packed red blood cell (PRBC) transfusion during the post-operative period. Patients received a large amount of intraoperative fluid with a median of 4500 mL (IQR 3400-5600). Hb drift was statistically associated with intraoperative and post-operative fluid infusion leading to concurrent issues with electrolyte imbalance and diuresis.
Hb drift is a phenomenon that does happen in major operations such as a Whipple\'s procedure, likely secondary to fluid over-resuscitation. Considering the risk of fluid overload and blood transfusion, Hb drift in the setting of fluid over-resuscitation needs to be kept in mind prior to blood transfusion to avoid unnecessary complications and wasting of other precious resources.