[Dynamics of the liver volume after its resection]

The dynamics of changes in the size of the liver after for localized lesions was studied in 42 patients. Both in benign and in malignant tumors the preoperative period was marked by compensatory hypertrophy of the lobes which were not involved in the tumor, and restoration of the size of the healthy hepatic parenchyma. In a period of up to 3 weeks after resection, sharp "blasting" enlargement of the remaining liver was noted due to increased filling with blood and edema of the organ. In the following periods up to 6 months, and sometimes of up to 12 months, the remaining part of the liver becomes smaller gradually to the preoperative size of the healthy parenchyma. The dynamics of the size of the liver after resection depends not on the character of the localized affection of the liver but on the volume of resection of the uninvolved parenchyma and the presence of concomitant diffuse changes in it.