Postoperative mechanical ventilation preventing the occurrence of pleural effusion after hepatectomy.

To determine factors leading to pleural effusion after hepatectomy, the frequency of pleural effusion was investigated in 68 patients who underwent hepatic resection, with or without dissection of the right coronary ligament. In 36 of 44 patients (81.8%) who underwent hepatic resection with complete dissection of the right coronary ligament, and in two of 24 (8.3%) who underwent the procedure without dissection of this ligament, pleural effusion developed in the right hemithorax (p less than 0.001). Difference in pressure between the abdominal and thoracic cavities was considered to lead to ascites in the chest via the diaphragmatic triangular area (where there is no parietal peritoneum). While investigating the preventive effect of mechanical ventilation following hepatic resection on the occurrence of pleural effusion in 12 patients, we concluded that effusion could be prevented with use of mechanical ventilation--an approach that retained the intrathoracic pressure in a positive state.