title: Role for extending hepatic resection using an aggressive approach to liver surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The definition of what is unresectable in liver surgery is controversial. Problems that many believe render patients unresectable can currently be resected using advanced techniques of liver surgery. This study assesses liver resection in patients who were unresectable with standard liver resection but were potentially resectable using an aggressive approach to liver surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  From 1997 to 2007, 830 adult patients undergoing hepatectomy were reviewed. Patients were categorized as having unresectable disease by standard resection if the disease could not be resected without resection of the IVC, hepatic vasculature, or because of tumor extent.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred sixteen patients were initially believed to have unresectable disease but went on to laparotomy. Eighteen patients were unresectable at operation, although 98 patients were resected. Seventy-eight trisectionectomies; 18 lobectomies; 1 mesohepatectomy; and 1 segment 5, 6 resection, combined with pancreaticoduodenectomy, nephrectomy, and colectomy, were performed. Fourteen patients also had pancreatic resections. Vascular reconstructions were performed on the IVC (n = 35), hepatic veins (n = 21), portal vein (n = 34), and hepatic artery (n = 5). Hypothermic perfusion of the liver was used in 12 patients (4 ex vivo, 8 in situ cold perfusion). Patients undergoing resection had 6% mortality with a morbidity of 35%. Median survival was 37 months (95% CI, 34-42 months). Five-year actuarial survival was 32%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with liver tumors considered "unresectable" by standard liver resection should be considered for resection with an aggressive approach to liver surgery. Five-year survival of approximately one-third of patients can be expected.
authors.affiliation: Division of Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA. hemming@surgery.ufl.edu
authors.forename: Alan W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Hemming
authors.forename: Alan I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Reed
authors.forename: Shiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zendejas
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Howard
authors.forename: Robin D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006498:Hepatectomy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000098:blood supply / Q000601:surgery*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014682:Vena Cava, Inferior / Q000601:surgery