The treatment options for primary hepatic cancer are many. Unfortunately, the long-term results and outcomes are far from satisfactory. Indeed, there are some doctors who would consider liver cancer to be a malignancy fit only for either palliative treatment or alternative forms of medicine.
Despite liver surgery being synonymous with higher than the standard surgical morbidity and mortality, one must point out that it is the surgical options that offer any real chance of long-term survival and must always be considered first. Surgery forms the mainstay of the treatment of liver cancer. As the results of hepatic surgery have improved, specialist centres have been emboldened to undertake major and even supra-major resections. Major liver surgery is presently associated with a 0-5 % mortality risk.
1
This article deals with the theme of conservation in hepatic cancer. It is for this reason that the major surgical procedures and their details have not been discussed here.
