Hepatic resection in 125 patients.

Hepatic resection was performed in 125 patients. Ninety-three of the 125 patients had malignant neoplasms; primary liver carcinoma in 61, metastatic liver carcinoma in 15, carcinoma of the bifurcation of the hepatic ducts in 16, and carcinoma of the gallbladder in one. Performance of hepatic resection was complicated by the presence of liver cirrhosis and jaundice in 42 and 19 patients, respectively. Nine of the 125 patients died within 30 days of the operations, with an operative mortality of 7.2%. Eight of the nine deaths were due to liver failure in the cirrhotic patients who underwent resection of more than two segments of the liver. None of the jaundiced patients died postoperatively. The three-year actuarial survival rates of the patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, metastatic liver carcinoma, and carcinoma of the bifurcation of the hepatic ducts were 31%, 56%, and 21% respectively.