Preserving a rare type of variant right hepatic artery combines surgical radicality and intact liver perfusion during pancreatectomy

An anomalous anatomy of the celiac trunk, and particularly of the right hepatic artery, may have a significant impact on major hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery. According to some authors, every third patient has an aberrant right hepatic artery. We present a very rare case of replaced right hepatic artery (RRHA) arising from the gastroduodenal artery associated with an accessory left hepatic artery originating from the left gastric artery in a 54-year-old woman with a pancreatic head carcinoma. The patient underwent total pancreatectomy on account of a soft lipomatous pancreas with heterogeneous changes of the pancreatic body and tail. We preserved the RRHA and achieved R0 resection margins. Preoperative evaluation of CT angiograms, an awareness of any anomalous arterial anatomy of the upper abdomen, and a meticulous surgical technique are the key to performing oncologically radical surgery without threatening the arterial liver supply

A double metachronous ureter metastasis following curative resection of rectal cancer

A malignant ureteral obstruction is most often due to primary tumors of the ureter. However, it can occur secondary due to external tumor compression or metastatic infiltration. Distant metastases to the ureter are extremely rare. We present a case of a rare double distant metachronic metastasis to the right ureter as well as to the right renal pelvis in a 58-year-old female with a history of anterior resection for rectal cancer 2 years earlier. She presented with recurrent urinary tract infection and right hydronephrosis caused by an ureteral mass. The patient underwent a right nephroureterectomy via laparotomy. Two metastases of the rectal cancer in the ureteral mucosa were verified at histology. On account of the infiltration of the right ureteral orifice, a completion transurethral resection of the tumor was performed. A follow-up 3 and 6 months later showed no signs of tumor relapse and the patient was doing well. The differential diagnosis of malignant ureteral obstruction in patients with history of colorectal cancer should include the rare possibility of distant metastasis from the primary tumor