title: The "Triple-Q Algorithm:" A practical approach to the identification of liver topography.
abstract: The descriptive identification and interpretation of liver pathology continue to raise debate, especially for trainees and junior physicians. There is wide diversity in the description of liver segmentation with sometimes contradictory terminology between French and American literature. Attempts were made to create a unified nomenclature that simplifies the problem. We propose a simple approach to describe the location of liver pathology in different settings by referring to an algorithm based on three questions. Explanations to answer these questions and correctly describe the location of liver pathology are herein described. In conclusion, we think that the adoption of such an algorithm called arbitrary "the Triple-Q Algorithm" will facilitate the understanding of liver topography for the young physicians, as well as it will allow for the accurate description and localization of the pathological lesions in the liver. This could be achieved after testing and validating this algorism in prospective studies. This could have academic and clinical implications in the medical education and the patient care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Section of Trauma Surgery, Tawam Hospital, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar; Department of Surgery, Section of Trauma Surgery, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Omar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bekdache
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Acute Care Surgery Section, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zarour
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Section of Trauma Surgery, Clinical Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; Department of Clinical Medicine Clinical Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Ayman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: El-Menyar
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Section of Trauma Surgery, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Yassir
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Abdulrahman
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Section of Trauma Surgery, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Husham
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abdelrahman
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Section of Trauma Surgery, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ellabib
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Section of Trauma Surgery, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Ruben
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Peralta
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Section of Trauma Surgery, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Al-Thani
keywords: Hepatic topography; liver segmentation; nomenclature of liver anatomy