Clinical experience with intraoperative Doppler color flow imaging in hepatectomy

Real-time two-dimensional Doppler echography (2-D Doppler), which permits both structural and blood flow evaluations simultaneously, was applied during hepatectomy in three cases. Intrahepatic portal flow was observed in one case both before and after Pringle's maneuver. Hemihepatic blood flow interruption, which was guided by 2-D Doppler imaging, was tried in two cases. Extrahepatic blood flow was also detected easily with 2-D Doppler techniques. This approach is useful for both anatomic and hemodynamic evaluation during hepatic surgery.