Extended right hepatectomy with total caudate lobe resection and biliary tree resection for a large colorectal liver metastasis involving both the right and left hepatic lobes and the umbilical fissure: a case report

Very large right-sided liver tumors may grow up to the base of the umbilical fissure and involve the left hepatic duct and can occasionally reach the bile duct confluence. This kind of involvement has often been considered a contraindication to resection. We report a patient who presented with a large hepatic metastasis from colorectal cancer that reached the umbilical fissure and involved the left hepatic duct just above the bile duct confluence. An extended right hepatectomy including complete resection of caudate lobe was performed. We resected the left and common hepatic ducts, as well as both the entire hepatic and the proximal third of common bile duct. A long jejunal limb Roux-en-Y (45 cm) single-layer left intrahepatic hepaticojejunostomy was constructed. She is still well 14 months postoperatively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of such a procedure employed for the treatment of a liver metastasis from colorectal cancer. Extended right hepatectomy including complete caudate lobe resection can be feasible even when the majority of the extrahepatic biliary system needs to be resected. Our approach probably offers the only chance to prevent early death from liver failure in these patients.