Surgical resection of hepatocellular carcinoma in the cirrhotic liver.

A total of 80 patients with asymptomatic small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated with liver cirrhosis underwent a liver resection. The patients were divided into 4 groups according to the location of their tumor: group A (n = 9): left lateral segmentectomy or left hepatectomy, group B (n = 42): atypical partial hepatectomy on the lateral aspect of the right lobe, group C (n = 25): subsegmentectomy on either the anterior or the posterior surface of the right lobe, group D (n = 4): subsegmentectomy in the hilar area. There were two postoperative deaths (both in group D) and five cases of hospital mortality (1 case due to myocardial infarction in group C; 1 case due to bleeding esophageal varices in group B and 2 cases in group C; and 1 case due to fulminating hepatitis in group B). There was no any significant difference in tumor size, the preoperative serum bromosulfaphthalein retention rate or the postoperative peak serum conjugated bilirubin level among all the groups (p less than 0.05). The weights of the resected specimens were higher in groups A and B (259 +/- 58 g, 230 +/- 154 g) than in groups C and D (54 +/- 32 g, 37.5 +/- 15.0 g) (p less than 0.05). The amount of blood required for transfusion during surgery in group D (3,625 +/- 3,146 mL) was significantly greater than in the other three, groups (p less than 0.05); and was also greater in groups B and C (1,649 +/- 880 mL, 1,635 +/- 1,156 mL), than in group A (444 +/- 273 mL; p less than 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)