Tolerance of chronically-diseased liver to prolonged hemihepatic ischemia during hepatectomy.

Seventeen patients with chronic liver disease underwent prolonged warm ischemia of hemi-lobe during liver resection. Those included 15 cirrhotic patients and two with chronic hepatitis. The hemi-hepatic ischemia was carried out with a liver clamp. The normothermic liver ischemia time of 40 to 70 minutes (53.8 +/- 10.4 minutes, mean +/- SD) were tolerated well with an acceptable postoperative course and no mortality. The liver with cirrhosis or chronic hepatitis can tolerate a hemi-hepatic ischemia of up to 70 minutes for patients with no high-risk factors.