Hypothesis: Although studies indicate that patient sex modulates the process of hepatic regeneration, it remains unknown whether sex has a role in the outcome of preoperative right portal vein embolization (PVE). We analyzed the effects of patient sex on the outcome of right PVE followed by major hepatectomy.
Design: Retrospective study.
Setting: Academic research.
Patients: Eighty-eight patients (42 men and 46 women) who underwent preoperative right PVE for bile duct carcinoma were analyzed retrospectively.
Main outcome measures: The percentage liver volume change, the plasma indocyanine green clearance rate, and the rate of postoperative hepatic failure were compared between men and women.
Results: The mean (SD) volume of the nonembolized lobe after PVE in women (323 [61] mL/m(2)) was statistically significantly greater than that in men (287 [61] mL/m(2)) (P =.008). The mean (SD) ratio of the nonembolized lobe to the total liver volume was also statistically significantly greater in women (45.8% [5.8%]) than in men (42.0% [5.9%]) (P =.003). The mean (SD) indocyanine green clearance rate of the future liver remnant was 0.075 [0.014] in women and 0.056 [0.011] in men (P =.001). The incidence of postoperative hepatic failure was higher in men (12 of 42 [28.6%]) than in women (8 of 46 [17.4%]) (P =.16).
Conclusion: These results indicate that sex dimorphism can be present in the outcome of preoperative right PVE.