Liver transplantation has now been the accepted standard of care for the treatment of end-stage liver disease and related conditions for more than 25 years. Although it was in 1963 that Thomas Starzl and his team performed the first successful…
The liver is a common site for both primary and metastatic oncologic disease. Primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has an annual incidence of 6 per 100,000 in the United States. Worldwide HCC is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in…
The field of hepatobiliary surgery has evolved dramatically in the past few decades, with improved understanding of the anatomic segments of the liver, advancements in modern imaging techniques, better operative instrumentation, and improved anesthesia care, as well as postoperative management.…
Liver Biopsy Percutaneous and Transjugular Liver Biopsy Liver biopsy was originally described by Ehrlich in 1883 to determine glycogen stores in patients with diabetes. A variety of approaches and techniques have been described for performing liver biopsy, including percutaneous, transjugular,…
Despite improvements in motor vehicle safety and altered patterns in trauma epidemiology over the past 20 years, the liver remains the most commonly injured intraabdominal organ. While the treatment of hepatic injuries has evolved over the past 100 years, areas…
Liver abscess is an uncommon entity that over the past 100 years has seen fairly dramatic changes in demographics, etiology, diagnosis, and treatment. Although the mortality from liver abscess has decreased significantly since the early 20th century, the incidence appears…
Hepatic cysts are a diverse group of lesions, ranging from developmental to infectious to neoplastic in etiology. The clinical implications of these lesions also vary widely. The increased use and sensitivity of abdominal imaging have led to the increasingly common…
Even the most straightforward surgical procedure can become exceptionally challenging when performed on a patient with an underlying hepatobiliary disorder. Hepatic dysfunction, as manifest by portal hypertension, synthetic impairment, and cholestasis may be present to varying degrees, and can have…
Liver function tests or a hepatic function panel consists of serum biochemical tests that include serum albumin, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT). These terms, however, are misleading because only the serum albumin truly measures the…
Our understanding of functional surgical hepatic anatomy evolved significantly through technical advances in repair of hepatobiliary injury, liver transplantation, hepatic resection, and radiologically guided intervention. This evolution was essential to the development of live-donor and deceased-donor segmental liver transplantation. Molmenti…