[Indication and limitation of hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma]

Hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has become safer with recent advances in diagnostic methods, operative techniques and understanding of how to evaluate liver function. Hepatectomy is the treatment of choice for HCC provided that patients are selected carefully, because cure is possible with hepatectomy (some patients survive long without recurrence). However, the rate of recurrence after hepatectomy is high. Recurrences can arise because of either intrahepatic dissemination or factors that give rise to multicentric carcinoma, so one must decide the operative method, to prevent recurrence and the treatment if such occurs, based on the pathogenesis of HCC.