[Vascular complications in hepatic resection]

Vascular complications after liver resection are not frequently encountered but can sometimes have severe consequences. In a series of 1075 case of liver resections performed at the Viêt-Duc Hospital from 1960 to 1985, we experienced only 30 cases complicated by vascular events: torsion of the inferior vena cava (n = 5), compression of the inferior vena cava (n = 1), damage to the intrahepatic suprahepatic vein (n = 2), damage to the inferior vena cava by a tear lesion of the accessory suprahepatic vein or the right adrenal vein (n = 3), damage to the inferior vena cava by tear in the main suprahepatic vein (n = 11), erosion of the anterior wall of the inferior vena cava due to an hepatoma (n = 3), damage to the inferior vena cava and to the hepatic pedicle (n = 1). Indications for hepatectomy in these 30 cases were: primary liver cancer (n = 28), liver metastasis of sympatoblastoma (n = 1) and diffuse hemangioma (n = 1). Mortality in this group was high (30%) compared with the overall mortality (13.%) or mortality due to the nature of the disease (18.7% for primary liver cancer) or the resection technique itself (23% for major resection).