Hepatectomy is the surgical resection (removal of all or part) of the

liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it ...

. While the term is often employed for the removal of the liver from a

liver transplant Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for end-stage liver disease and acute liver failure, al ...

donor, this article will focus on partial resections of hepatic tissue and

hepatoportoenterostomy A hepatoportoenterostomy or Kasai portoenterostomy is a surgical treatment performed on infants with Type IVb choledochal cyst and biliary atresia to allow for bile drainage. In these infants, the bile is not able to drain normally from the small ...

History

The first hepatectomies were reported by Dr. Ichio Honjo (1913–1987) of ( Kyoto University) in 1949, and Dr. Jean-Louis Lortat-Jacob (1908–1992) of France in 1952. In the latter case, the patient was a 58-year-old woman diagnosed with colorectal cancer which had

metastasized Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, then, ...

to the liver.

Indications

Most hepatectomies are performed for the treatment of hepatic

neoplasms A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

, both benign or malign. Benign neoplasms include

hepatocellular adenoma Hepatocellular adenoma (also known as hepatic adenoma or hepadenoma) is a rare, benign liver tumor. It most commonly occurs in people with elevated systemic levels of estrogen, classically in women taking estrogen-containing oral contraceptive me ...

, hepatic

hemangioma A hemangioma or haemangioma is a usually benign vascular tumor derived from blood vessel cell types. The most common form, seen in infants, is an infantile hemangioma, known colloquially as a "strawberry mark", most commonly presenting on the ski ...

and focal nodular hyperplasia. The most common malignant neoplasms (cancers) of the liver are

metastases Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, then ...

; 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. Another primary malignant liver tumor is the cholangiocarcinoma. Hepatectomy may also be the procedure of choice to treat intrahepatic

gallstones A gallstone is a stone formed within the gallbladder from precipitated bile components. The term cholelithiasis may refer to the presence of gallstones or to any disease caused by gallstones, and choledocholithiasis refers to the presence of mi ...

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...

cysts of the liver. Partial hepatectomies are also performed to remove a portion of a liver from a living donor for transplantation.

Technique

A hepatectomy is considered a major surgical procedure performed under

general anesthesia General anaesthesia (UK) or general anesthesia (US) is a medically induced loss of consciousness that renders the patient unarousable even with painful stimuli. This effect is achieved by administering either intravenous or inhalational general ...

. Access is accomplished by

laparotomy A laparotomy is a surgical procedure involving a surgical incision through the abdominal wall to gain access into the abdominal cavity. It is also known as a celiotomy. Origins and history The first successful laparotomy was performed without ane ...

, historically by a bilateral subcostal ("chevron") incision, possibly with midline extension (Calne or "Mercedes-Benz" incision). Nowadays a broadly used approach for open liver resections is the J incision, consisting in a right subcostal incision with midline extension. The anterior approach, one of the most innovative, is made simpler by the liver hanging maneuver. In most recent years the minimal invasive approach, consisting in laparoscopic and then robotic surgery, has become increasingly common in liver resective surgery. Hepatectomies may be anatomic, i.e. the lines of resection match the limits of one or more functional segments of the liver as defined by the Couinaud classification (cf. liver#Functional anatomy); or they may be non-anatomic, irregular or "wedge" hepatectomies. Anatomic resections are generally preferred because of the smaller risk of bleeding and biliary fistula; however, non-anatomic resections can be performed safely as well in selected cases. The

Pringle manoeuvre The Pringle manoeuvre is a surgical technique used in some abdominal operations and in liver trauma. The hepatoduodenal ligament is clamped either with a surgical tool called a haemostat, an umbilical tape or by hand. This limits blood inflow thr ...

is usually performed during a hepatectomy to minimize blood loss - however this can lead to

reperfusion injury Reperfusion injury, sometimes called ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) or reoxygenation injury, is the tissue damage caused when blood supply returns to tissue ('' re-'' + ''perfusion'') after a period of ischemia or lack of oxygen (anoxia or hy ...

in the liver due to Ischemia.

Complications

Bleeding Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, vag ...

is a feared technical complication and may be grounds for urgent reoperation. It has been demonstrated that the intraoperative blood loss during liver resections affects the outcome in terms of postoperative morbility and mortality.

Biliary A bile duct is any of a number of long tube-like structures that carry bile, and is present in most vertebrates. Bile is required for the digestion of food and is secreted by the liver into passages that carry bile toward the hepatic duct. It ...

fistula A fistula (plural: fistulas or fistulae ; from Latin ''fistula'', "tube, pipe") in anatomy is an abnormal connection between two hollow spaces (technically, two epithelialized surfaces), such as blood vessels, intestines, or other hollow or ...

is also a possible complication, albeit one more amenable to nonsurgical management. Pulmonary complications such as

atelectasis Atelectasis is the collapse or closure of a lung resulting in reduced or absent gas exchange. It is usually unilateral, affecting part or all of one lung. It is a condition where the alveoli are deflated down to little or no volume, as distinct ...

and

pleural effusion A pleural effusion is accumulation of excessive fluid in the pleural space, the potential space that surrounds each lung. Under normal conditions, pleural fluid is secreted by the parietal pleural capillaries at a rate of 0.6 millilitre per k ...

are commonplace, and dangerous in patients with underlying lung disease.

Infection An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dis ...

is relatively rare. Liver failure is the most serious complication of liver resection; this is a major deterrent in the surgical resection of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue rep ...

. It is also a problem, to a lesser degree, in patients with previous hepatectomies (e.g. repeat resections for reincident colorectal cancer metastases).

Results

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 centres and transplantation centres). For optimal results, combination treatment with systemic or regionally infused chemo or biological therapy should be considered. Prior to surgery, cytotoxic agents such as oxaliplatin given systemically for colorectal metastasis, or chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma can significantly decrease the size of the tumor bulk, allowing then for resections which would remove a segment or wedge portion of the liver only. These procedures can also be aided by application of liver clamp (Lin or Chu liver clamp; Pilling no.604113-61995) in order to minimize blood loss.

Etymology

The word "hepatectomy" is derived from Greek. In Greek liver is ''hepar'' and -ectomy comes from the Greek ''ektomē'', "to remove."

References

External links

Oncolex, the cancer encyclopedia, on liver cancer

Video showing laprascopic liver resection.

* [http://www.pie.med.utoronto.ca/tvasurg/TVASurg_content/surg/PL_standardLeftHepatectomy.html The Toronto Video Atlas of Liver, Pancreas and Transplant Surgery – Video of Standard Left Hepatectomy procedure]
The Toronto Video Atlas of Liver, Pancreas and Transplant Surgery – Video of Standard Right Hepatectomy procedure

{{Authority control Surgical oncology Hepatology Accessory digestive gland surgery