Pancreas and liver resection in jehovah's witness patients: Feasible and safe Journal Article


Authors: Konstantinidis, I. T.; Allen, P. J.; D'Angelica, M. I.; DeMatteo, R. P.; Fischer, M. E.; Grant, F.; Fong, Y.; Kingham, T. P.; Jarnagin, W. R.
Article Title: Pancreas and liver resection in jehovah's witness patients: Feasible and safe
Abstract: Background Jehovah's Witness (JW) patients undergoing liver or pancreas surgery represent a challenging ethical and medical problem, with few reports about their optimal management. Study Design To analyze the perioperative outcomes of JW patients submitted to hepatic or pancreatic resection, clinicopathologic data of JW patients who underwent surgical exploration for a hepatic or pancreatic tumor between March 1996 and July 2011 were reviewed retrospectively. Results Clinicopathologic data of 27 patients, 28 explorations, and 25 resections were included. Median age was 58 years (range 28 to 75 years) and 20 patients were female. Three patients were explored and deemed unresectable. Fifteen hepatic resections (9 segmentectomy or bi/trisegmentectomy, 6 hemi-hepatectomy or extended hepatectomy) and 10 pancreatic resections (6 pancreaticoduodenectomy, 4 distal pancreatectomy/ splenectomy) were reviewed; additional organs were resected in 5 patients (2 gastrectomy, 1 colectomy, 1 nephrectomy, 1 adrenalectomy, 1 salpingoophorectomy) . Median estimated blood loss for the hepatectomies was 400 mL (range 100 to 1,500 mL) and for the pancreatectomies was 400 mL (range 250 to 1,800 mL). Six patients received preoperative erythropoietin; hemodilution was used in 9 patients and 3 had Cell Saver-generated autotransfusions. Median preoperative hemoglobin was 12.5 g/dL (range 9.5 to 14.4 g/dL) and median postoperative hemoglobin was 10.4 g/dL (range 9 to 12.4 g/dL). In-hospital mortality was 0%. One patient required re-exploration for decreasing hemoglobin and refusal of transfusion; a total of 11 complications developed in 7 other patients (5 wound infection/breakdown, 1 urinary tract infection, 1 ileus, 1 nausea/vomiting, 1 lymphedema, 1 ascites, and 1 ARDS). Median hospital stay was 7 days (range 4 to 23 days). Conclusions Pancreatic and liver resection can be done safely in selected JW patients who refuse blood products by using a variety of blood-conservation techniques to help spare red cell mass. © 2013 by the American College of Surgeons.
Journal Title: Journal of the American College of Surgeons
Volume: 217
Issue: 6
ISSN: 1072-7515
Publisher: Elsevier Science, Inc.  
Date Published: 2013-12-01
Start Page: 1101
End Page: 1107
Language: English
DOI: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2013.05.020
PROVIDER: scopus
PUBMED: 23880361
DOI/URL:
Notes: --- - "Export Date: 2 December 2013" - "CODEN: JACSE" - "Source: Scopus"
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MSK Authors
  1. Mary Ellen Fischer
    30 Fischer
  2. Florence Grant
    15 Grant
  3. Ronald P DeMatteo
    637 DeMatteo
  4. Peter Allen
    501 Allen
  5. William R Jarnagin
    903 Jarnagin
  6. Yuman Fong
    775 Fong
  7. T Peter Kingham
    609 Kingham