[Towards safer and parenchyma-conserving liver resections: experience with three-dimensional reconstructions of...

New techniques are available for the diagnosis and treatment of liver metastases. Three patients, a male aged 52 and two females aged 70 and 47, developed liver metastases after resection of a colorectal carcinoma. Spiral CT scanning made possible detailed three dimensional imaging of the liver to determine the extension of the metastases and the site of the metastasis in relation to blood vessels and bile ducts. This enabled the surgeon preoperatively to arrive at a balanced operation strategy, with the objectives of radical resection of the metastasis and conservation of sufficient residual liver tissue with minimal morbidity and mortality. In addition, use was made of peroperative clamping of blood vessels to determine the possibility of resecting along anatomical borders. This offers the advantages that less blood is lost and a smaller resection often suffices. In the 3 patients followed respectively a wedge excision of the tumour, a wedge excision combined with a hemihepatectomy and a resection of two segments.