New techniques of liver surgery

Techniques of liver resection for colorectal cancer metastases continue to evolve, and the range of patients who benefit from such treatment expands. With improvements in preoperative and intraoperative imaging, surgical strategies for reducing blood loss and maximizing excision of disease and residual liver function, patient selection, and chemotherapy, many of the traditional contraindications to hepatic resection are no longer absolute contraindications. Appreciable long-term survival after resection is observed in many patients for which resection would not have been considered an option until recently. Novel treatment strategies have been successful in converting nonresectable disease to resectable disease, with good survival outcome. Continued study of and experience with novel surgical techniques and treatment strategies will continue to improve outcomes in liver resection for metastatic colorectal cancer.