[Klatskin tumor surgical treatment]

Due to the difficulties of diagnosis of central bile duct carcinoma an experienced surgeon should be involved in the decision-making process at an early stage. This is true in particular with regard to the fact that currently the only curative treatment option is an extended bile duct resection with up to 80% five-year survival rates. In case of a too small liver volume, contralateral selective percutaneous embolization of the portal vein can be performed. Liver transplantation is reserved to a selected group of patients with local inoperability, but it is becoming more and more important due to the possibility of living donor liver transplantation associated with multimodal treatment strategies.