Repeat hepatectomy for colorectal liver metastases

This study includes 16 patients (9 men, 7 women; mean age 64 years) who underwent a total of 19 repeat hepatectomies for metastasis after colon (n=7) or rectal (n=9) carcinoma. All patients were reoperated for recurrent liver metastasis after the first resection (mean, 21 months; range, 7-40 months), and three had a third hepatectomy 13, 24, or 65 months after the second. Perioperative mortality was 0% and morbidity was 37%. The 3- and 5-year survival rates after the second resection were 56.8% and 28.4%, respectively, with a median survival of 42.3 months. Seven patients died (mean survival, 25.7 months; range, 9-58 months) before the end of the study. Six patients were alive with one or more recurrences, and three (24, 51, and 173 months of follow-up) were alive without known recurrence. Survival rates for repeat resections of colorectal liver metastases in selected patients were comparable with those obtained after resection of a first liver metastasis.