Pure laparoscopic posterior sectionectomy for liver metastasis resulting from choroidal malignant melanoma: a case report

Abstract

Liver metastases resulting from primary choroidal malignant melanomas occur frequently and have a poor prognosis. As a result of advancements in multidisciplinary approaches, life expectancy can be increased when R0 resection is possible. Herein we report the surgical outcomes of pure laparoscopic posterior sectionectomy (PLPS) in a patient with a solitary liver metastasis resulting from choroidal malignant melanoma. The subject was a 46-year-old Japanese man who had received radiotherapy for primary right choroidal malignant melanoma 2 years before presenting at our hospital; he subsequently underwent ophthalmectomy as a result of the relapse. During follow-up, CT revealed a metastatic lesion in the liver S7, and interventional treatments were performed sequentially. The lesion still showed a tendency to enlarge, so we performed PLPS. On postoperative day 7, the patient was discharged from the hospital, and he started to receive adjuvant chemotherapy 2 weeks after PLPS. Although PLPS is deemed to be difficult for lesions in the upper part or posterior segment of the liver, we performed this modality safely.

Keywords: Choroidal melanoma; laparoscopic liver resection; liver metastasis.