Efficacy of only left side approach in a case of unsuccessful reconstruction of the right hepatic artery after left hepatic lobectomy with caudal lobectomy.

We report two cases that underwent extended left hepatic lobectomy combined with resection of the caudate lobe and extrahepatic bile duct only from the left side approach for hilar cholangiocarcinoma. The first case was a 54-year-old man and the second one was a 63-year-old man. Both patients had hilar cholangiocarcinoma with predominant left hepatic duct involvement and required resection and reconstruction of the right hepatic artery as well as left hepatic lobectomy. In both cases, the right hepatic lobe was never mobilized to protect the mechanical damage in the remnant liver and keep co-lateral blood supply route to the remnant liver from the diaphragm or retroperitoneum. Although arterial blood flow to the remnant right hepatic lobe was unfortunately insufficient after reconstruction of the right hepatic artery, the postoperative course was uneventful. The postoperative angiography showed co-lateral arterial blood supply to the right lobe via the subdiaphragmatic artery. In case of extended left hepatic lobectomy combined with resection of the caudate lobe and right hepatic artery, ipsilateral approach (approach only from the left side) is recommended.