Liver Surgery

Liver surgery called a partial hepatectomy is primarily performed to remove (resect) a portion of the liver where one or two small, malignant tumors have been detected. Such tumors cannot be more 5 centimeters in diameter, and the patient needs to have good liver function at the time of the operation to avoid liver failure from occurring as a consequence of the procedure. When a portion of a healthy liver (not affected by cirrhosis) has been resected, the liver can actually regenerate itself within a period of weeks. Patients with hepatocellular cancer (HCC) that is removed via liver resection can, however, often have their cancer recur in another part of the liver at some point in the future. In some cases, a partial hepatectomy procedure may be recommended as a way to extend the life expectancy of a patient suffering from metastatic colorectal cancer.