Eight years after introducing liver resection at the Oncology Institute of Vojvodina

Background: Hepatectomies are mostly performed for the treatment of hepatic benign or malignant neoplasms, intrahepatic gallstones, or parasitic cysts of the liver. The most common malignant neoplasms of the liver are metastases from colorectal cancer. Anatomic liver resection involves two or more hepatic segments, while non-anatomic liver resection involves resection of the metastases with a margin of uninvolved tissue. The aim of this manuscript was to show results of hepatectomies performed at the Oncology Institute of Vojvodina. Methods: We performed 133 liver resections from January 1997 to December 2013. Clinical and histopathological data were obtained from operative protocols, histopathological reports, and patients? medical histories. Results: We did 80 metastasectomies, 51 segmentectomies, and 18 radiofrequent ablations (RFA). Average number of colorectal cancer metastases was 1.67 per patient. We also made 10 left hepatectomies. In all cases, we made non-anatomic resections. Conclusion: Decision about anatomic versus non-anatomic resections for colorectal metastasis and primary liver tumors should be made before surgical exploration. Preservation of liver parenchyma is important with respect to liver failure and postoperative chemotherapy treatment.