Palliative treatment of the hepatic hilus through Soupault-Couinaud surgery
Tratamento paliativo da obstrução maligna do hilo hepático pela operação de Soupault-Couinaud

Marcelo Fernandes Rangel¹, Francisco de Sales M. Pinto², Marcus Valério Maia da Silva², Luanda Karla Dantas Trajano³, Vinícius Souza de Lucena⁴, Felipe Gurgel de Araújo⁴

Abstract

The specialized literature has demonstrated that the survival of the patients with malignant jaundice, even when submited only to palliative treatment, is usually long. The authors present the results of the Soupault-Couinaud’s operation, performed as palliative treatment in 17 consecutive patients with malignant jaundice. Among other variables, it was evaluated an index of life quality denominated Comfort Index, allowing for numerical comparison of results. There was an important regression of jaundice in 88.2% of cases, and a statistically relevant reduction of seric levels of bilirubins in the postoperative (P < 0.05). Hospital mortality rate was of 11.8%, and the Comfort Index was of 81.9%. These results allow to state that the proposiet technique represents an effective method for the resolution of cholestasis due to unresectable tumours of the hepatic hilus and that the Comfort Index of 81.9% proves this method to be an adequate palliative treatment for malignant jaundice.

Key words: cancer of the hepatic hilus; palliative cholangioenteric anastomosis; survival; Comfort Index