The Use of Technical Vessel Sealing Devices for Recipient Hepatectomy in Liver Transplantation

Summary

The surgical technique used in liver transplantation has undergone constant Evolution in an effort towards towards a safe, highly standardized procedure. Despite this, the initial step of the recipients' hepatectomy has not been in the focus of clinical research thus far. Due to usually advanced coagulopathy in liver transplantation recipients, this part of the operation still bares the risk of severe hemorrhage. This trial is designed to compare an electrothermic, bipolar vessel sealing device (LigaSureTM) and an ultrasound dissector (HARMONIC ACE®+7) to standard surgical techniques during the recipients' hepatectomy in liver transplantation. In a single center, prospective, randomized, controlled, parallel three armed, confirmatory, open trial, LigaSureTM and HARMONIC ACE®+7 will be compared to standard surgical techniques which, utilize titanium clips and conventional knot tying ligations during the recipients' hepatectomy in liver transplantation. Intraoperative total blood loss is the primary endpoint of the trial. Secondary endpoints include blood loss during the hepatectomy, the duration of both the hepatectomy and the entire surgical procedure, as well as blood transfusion requirements of the procedure. To generate reliable data, intraoperative blood loss will be recorded with respect to all rinse fluids during surgery, ascites and by weighing used swabs to generate reliable data. At 80% power and an alpha of 0.025 for both either of the experimental groups, twenty-three subjects will be analysed per protocol in each study arm in order to detect a clinically relevant reduction of intraoperative blood loss. The intention to treat analysis will include sixty-nine patients. The follow up period for each patient will be 90 days for safety reasons, whereas all clinical outcomes will be measured within the first ten postoperative days. This is the first prospective, randomized trial comparing two innovative, technical methods of vessel sealing and dissection against standard techniques for recipient hepatectomy. This will be done to detect a relevant reduction of intraoperative blood loss during liver transplantation.The results of the trial are expected to improve patients' outcome and safety after liver transplantation and to increase the general safety of this procedure.

Conditions

• Hepatectomy

Interventions

DEVICE

LigaSure

The dissection of the small blood vessels and the connective tissue in the hepatoduodenal ligament is carried out with LigaSure

DEVICE

Harmonic Ultrasonic dissector

The dissection of the small blood vessels and the connective tissue in the hepatoduodenal ligament is carried out with Harmonic Ultrasonic dissector

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University Hospital Heidelberg

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Philipp Houben, MD · Department of General, Visceral and Transplant Surgery, University Hospital Heidelberg, Germany

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-08-01

Primary Completion

2021-07-01

Completion

2021-09-01