Clinical Significance of Apolipoprotein B as an Indicator of Remnant Liver Hepatic Function following Hepatectomy

The clinical significance of apolipoprotein B (apo B) as an indicator of liver function after hepatectomy was investigated. A total of 32 patients who had undergone hepatectomy in our department during January 1997 and June 1998 were selected for this study. Apo B, total bilirubin (T. bil), albumin, indocyanine green dye retention test at 15 min (ICG), lectin-cholesterol acyl transferase (LCAT), and prealbumin were measured in these patients at pre- and postoperation. The types of hepatic resection performed were partial resection, 6 cases; subsegmentectomy, 8 cases; segmentectomy, 4 cases; and bisegmentectomy, 14 cases. Operations were tolerated in all cases, and severe complications such as liver failure were not observed. No significant differences in changes of apo B between types of operation procedures were found. At postoperative day 7, apo B showed significant correlation with LCAT, prealbumin, and T. bil (r=0.847, r=0.665, r=-0.442), but showed no significant correlation with ICG or albumin. On the basis of these results, apo B was shown to be a good indicator for evaluation of liver function after hepatectomy.