[Liver surgery in the repertoire of the general surgeon]

In 1987, 2082 operations of the liver were performed in Germany by 196 of 230 consulted surgical departments in general hospitals. Surgery for liver injuries predominates in suburban hospitals, where as planned interventions are more often performed in main clinics. Our hospital resections of 1-6 subsegments of the liver in 134 patients averaged a mortality of 4.5%. Problems of benign and malignant tumours as well as of the chronic inflammed Echinococcus cyst are mentioned. The standards of the apparative assistance is interpreted and procedures are explained.