One stage curative resection of double intestinal neuroendocrine tumors with thirty-two bilobar liver metastases. A case report

Abstract

Neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) of the midgut are often multifocal and have a noticeable attitude to metastasize to locoregional lymph nodes and liver. Surgery is the only curative treatment for metastatic NETs of the midgut, even though only a minority of patients are candidates to radical surgical resection.

The optimal timing for surgical resection in case of synchronous presentation of primary intestinal neoplasms and resectable LM is still controversial, especially when LM are multiple and/or involve multiple liver segments. Even though a staged approach with initial intestinal resection followed by liver resection is still preferred, recent studies have shown favourable results for simultaneous procedures, which have the striking advantage of avoiding a second laparotomy, with morbidity and mortality rates comparable to staged resections.

We report here the case of a patient with double midgut well-differentiated NET and thirty-two synchronous bilobar LM who received successful simultaneous curative right hemicolectomy and radical but conservative liver resection and radiofrequency thermal ablation with the guidance of intraoperative ultrasonography. He is alive without evidence of recurrence 48 months after surgery.