Fresh frozen plasma transfusion does not affect outcomes following hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM: To investigate whether fresh frozen plasma (FFP) transfusion affects outcomes following hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in terms of liver function, postoperative complications and cancer prognosis. METHODS: We retrospectively compared the incidence of postoperative complications between 204 patients who underwent hepatectomy for HCC with routine FFP transfusion in an early period (1983-1993, Group A) and 293 with necessity for FFP transfusion during a later period (1998-2006, Group B), and also between two subgroups of Group B [22 patients with FFP transfusion (Group B1) and 275 patients without FFP transfusion (Group B2)]. Additionally, only in limited patients in Group B1 and Group B2 with intraoperative blood loss ≥ 2000 mL (Group B1≥ 2000 mL and Group B2≥ 2000 mL), postoperative complications, liver function tests, and cancer prognosis were compared. RESULTS: No mortality was registered in Group B, compared to 8 patients (3.9%) of Group A. The incidence of morbidity in Group B2 [23.2% (64/275)] was not significantly different from Group B1 [40.9% (9/22)] and Group A [27.0% (55/204)]. The incidence of complications and postoperative liver function tests were comparable between Group B1≥ 2000 mL vs Group B2≥ 2000 mL. Postoperative prognosis did not correlate with administration of FFP, but with tumor-related factors. CONCLUSION: The outcome of hepatectomy for HCC is not influenced by FFP transfusion. We suggest FFP transfusion be abandoned in patients who undergo hepatectomy for HCC.