Preoperative Evaluation of the Remaining Part of the Liver for Liver Resection

A liver resection is the surgical removal of all or a portion of the liver. It is also referred to as a hepatectomy, full or partial. A complete liver resection is performed in the setting of a transplant a diseased liver is removed from a deceased donor (cadaver). A living donor may also provide a piece of liver tissue which is procured through a partial hepatectomy, The procedure may be performed through a traditional open procedure or using minimally invasive techniques.

When is Liver Resection Performed Most hepatectomies are performed for the treatment of hepatic neoplasms, both benign or malignant. Benign neoplasms include hepatocellular adenoma, hepatic hemangioma and focal nodular hyperplasia.The most common malignant neoplasms (cancers) of the liver are metastases; those arising from colorectal cancer are among the most common, and the most amenable to surgical resection. The most common primary malignant tumour of the liver is the hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatectomy may also be the procedure of choice to treat intrahepatic gallstones or parasitic cysts of the liver.

Liver surgery is safe when performed by experienced surgeons with appropriate technological and institutional support. As with most major surgical procedures, there is a marked tendency towards optimal results at the hands of surgeons with high caseloads in selected centres (typically cancer academic medical centers and transplantation centers).

Partial hepatectomy is surgery to remove part of the liver. Only people with good liver function who are healthy enough for surgery and who have a single tumor that has not grown into blood vessels can have this operation.

Imaging tests, such as CT or MRI with angiography are done first to see if the cancer can be removed completely. Still, sometimes during surgery the cancer is found to be too large or has spread too far to be removed, and the surgery that has been planned cannot be done.