The role of lymphatic drainage of the liver in gallbladder cancer: a case report.
We report a case of a patient with a unique lymph node relapse after right hepatectomy and aggressive lymph node dissection for gallbladder cancer. There was extensive involvement of the hepatic parenchyma from the primary tumor, but no extension to the lymph nodes or other adjacent organs. Seventeen months later, the patient underwent re-dissection of the retroperitoneal lymph nodes with right nephrectomy and partial resection of the vena cava because of lymph node recurrence at the hilum of the right kidney. This pattern of lymph node metastasis to the right side of the vena cava from gallbladder cancer invading the liver is probably due to the distinct lymphatic drainage of the liver.
Kurosaki
I
I
First Department of Surgery, Niigata University, School of Medicine, Japan.
Tsukada
K
K
Ohzeki
H
H
Nihei
K
K
Nishimura
A
A
Hatakeyama
K
K
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005704:Gallbladder / Q000473:pathology; D005706:Gallbladder Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006498:Hepatectomy; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000473:pathology; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology*; D008208:Lymphatic System / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009392:Nephrectomy; D012086:Reoperation; D019043:Vascular Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D014682:Vena Cava, Inferior / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery