Pitfalls of radiofrequency assisted liver resection.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Radiofrequency has been used recently for bloodless liver resection. We studied the safety and feasibility of using RF energy for liver parenchymal transection in 8 patients.

METHODOLOGY

We performed eight (n=8) open RF assisted liver resection for various malignancies. There were 5 men and 3 women, with mean age of 56.5 years (range 20-80 years).

RESULTS

All patients had successful liver resection. The mean operating time for liver resection was 45 minutes (range 25-60 min). The average blood loss for wedge resections and segmentectomies was 30 mL (range 10-100 mL). None of the patients required postoperative transfusion. Three out of eight patients developed minor complications in the form of intra-abdominal abscesses which were managed by USG guided drainage of abscess in two patients and one patient had open surgical drainage of the subhepatic abscess.

CONCLUSIONS

RF assisted liver resection is safe and effective with minimal blood loss for minor liver resections. Though the procedure is slightly more time consuming presently, with further improvement in technology and needles, the operative time may be reduced for this technique. RF assisted liver resection should be avoided in the presence of overt local sepsis.