Aberrant left hepatic artery arising from the left gastric artery and liver function after radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

An aberrant left hepatic artery, arising from the left gastric artery (LHLG), either as an accessory or replacing the left hepatic artery, is occasionally seen in patients with gastric cancer. Resection of LHLG, as part of the gastrectomy procedure, may cause liver dysfunction. The surgical records of a group of 141 patients who had undergone gastrectomy for gastric cancer following preoperative angiography were reviewed. Twenty-eight of the patients had an LHLG preoperatively; in 15 the artery was severed during surgery and in the remainder it was preserved. Postoperative liver function was assessed by measuring changes in lactate dehydrogenase, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, and glutamic pyruvic transaminase activities. The greatest changes in liver function were observed in patients in whom the LHLG has been severed; the changes in liver function among patients whose LHLGs were preserved were similar to those in patients who had no LHLG. Notably, the wider the area fed by the LHLG, the greater was the change in liver function. The observed liver dysfunctions were transient, however, and normal function resumed within 7 days after operation.