What is liver resection?

Liver resection is surgery to remove a piece of the liver. Up to one-half of your liver can be removed if the rest of it is healthy. The doctor makes a cut (incision) in your belly to take out part of the liver. If the doctor removes the right side of your liver, your gallbladder will also be removed.

Liver resection requires general anesthesia. The surgery can take 2 to 5 hours.

You will probably stay in the hospital for 5 to 14 days after surgery. You will need to take it easy for 4 to 8 weeks at home.

Activity

• Rest when you feel tired. Getting enough sleep will help you recover.
• Try to walk each day. Start by walking a little more than you did the day before. Bit by bit, increase the amount you walk. Walking boosts blood flow and helps prevent pneumonia and constipation.
• Avoid strenuous activities, such as bicycle riding, jogging, weight lifting, or aerobic exercise, until your doctor says it is okay.
• For at least 8 weeks, avoid lifting anything that would make you strain. This may include a child, heavy grocery bags and milk containers, a heavy briefcase or backpack, cat litter or dog food bags, or a vacuum cleaner.
• Hold a pillow over your incision when you cough or take deep breaths. This will support your belly and decrease your pain.
• Do breathing exercises at home as instructed by your doctor. This will help prevent pneumonia.
• Ask your doctor when you can drive again.
• You will probably need to take 4 to 8 weeks off from work. It depends on the type of work you do and how you feel.
• You may be able to take showers (unless you have a drain near your incision). If you have a drain near your incision, follow your doctor's instructions to empty and care for it. Do not take a bath for the first 2 weeks, or until your doctor tells you it is okay.
• Ask your doctor when it is okay for you to have sex.

Diet

• You can eat your normal diet. If your stomach is upset, try bland, low-fat foods like plain rice, broiled chicken, toast, and yogurt.
• Drink plenty of fluids (unless your doctor tells you not to).
• Check with your doctor before drinking alcohol. Alcohol can damage the liver.
• You may notice that your bowel movements are not regular right after your surgery. This is common. Try to avoid constipation and straining with bowel movements. You may want to take a fiber supplement every day. If you have not had a bowel movement after a couple of days, ask your doctor about taking a mild laxative.

Medicines

• Your doctor will tell you if and when you can restart your medicines. He or she will also give you instructions about taking any new medicines.
• If you stopped taking aspirin or some other blood thinner, your doctor will tell you when to start taking it again.
• Take pain medicines exactly as directed.
  • If the doctor gave you a prescription medicine for pain, take it as prescribed.
  • If you are not taking a prescription pain medicine, take an over-the-counter medicine that your doctor recommends. Read and follow all instructions on the label.
  • Do not take aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve), or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) unless your doctor says it is okay.
• If you think your pain medicine is making you sick to your stomach:
  • Take your medicine after meals (unless your doctor has told you not to).
  • Ask your doctor for a different kind of pain medicine.
• If your doctor prescribed antibiotics, take them as directed. Do not stop taking them just because you feel better. You need to take the full course of antibiotics.

Incision care

• If you have strips of tape on the incision, leave the tape on for a week or until it falls off.
• Wash the area daily with warm, soapy water, and pat it dry. Don't use hydrogen peroxide or alcohol, which can slow healing. You may cover the area with a gauze bandage if it weeps or rubs against clothing. Change the bandage every day.
• Keep the area clean and dry.

Liver resection increases a person's chances of living longer. About 25% to 40% of people (25 to 40 out of 100 people) who have this surgery are still alive after 5 years (5-year survival rate).

Surgery can be stressful. This information will help you understand what you can expect. And it will help you safely prepare for surgery.

Preparing for surgery

• You may need to empty your bowels with an enema or laxative. Your doctor will tell you how to do this.
• Be sure you have someone to take you home. Anesthesia and pain medicine will make it unsafe for you to drive or get home on your own.
• Understand exactly what surgery is planned, along with the risks, benefits, and other options.
• If you take a medicine that prevents blood clots, your doctor may tell you to stop taking it before your surgery. Or your doctor may tell you to keep taking it. (These medicines include aspirin and other blood thinners.) Make sure that you understand exactly what your doctor wants you to do.
• Tell your doctor ALL the medicines, vitamins, supplements, and herbal remedies you take. Some may increase the risk of problems during your surgery. Your doctor will tell you if you should stop taking any of them before the surgery and how soon to do it.
• Make sure your doctor and the hospital have a copy of your advance directive. If you don’t have one, you may want to prepare one. It lets others know your health care wishes. It’s a good thing to have before any type of surgery or procedure.

Possible complications after a liver resection include:

• Infection.
• Bleeding.
• Scar tissue from the surgery.

Follow-up care is needed because of the chance that colorectal cancer will return, even if the surgery was successful. Treatment after liver resection may include chemotherapy or radiation treatments.

Liver resection is surgery to remove a piece of the liver. Up to one-half of your liver can be removed if the rest of it is healthy. The doctor made a cut, called an incision, in your belly to take out part of the liver. If the doctor removed the right side of your liver, your gallbladder was also removed.

Your belly will be sore after liver resection. This usually lasts about 1 to 2 weeks. You may also have nausea, diarrhea, constipation, gas, or a headache. You may have a low fever and feel tired and sick to your stomach. The skin around the incision the doctor made may be numb because nerves were cut. This is common and may get better with time. But it's likely that you will always have some numbness where the incision was made. You may need 4 to 8 weeks to fully recover.

• Follow the instructions exactly about when to stop eating and drinking. If you don't, your surgery may be canceled. If your doctor told you to take your medicines on the day of surgery, take them with only a sip of water.
• Take a bath or shower before you come in for your surgery. Do not apply lotions, perfumes, deodorants, or nail polish.
• Do not shave the surgical site yourself.
• Take off all jewelry and piercings. And take out contact lenses, if you wear them.

At the hospital or surgery center

• Bring a picture ID.
• The area for surgery is often marked to make sure there are no errors.
• You will be kept comfortable and safe by your anesthesia provider. You will be asleep during the surgery.
• The surgery will take 2 to 5 hours.
• You may have a small tube coming out of your belly for a few days to drains fluids.
• You may have a thin plastic tube in your nose that goes down the back of your throat into your stomach. This drains stomach juices. It is usually removed several days after surgery.

Liver resection is used to treat colorectal cancer that has spread to the liver. Removing the cancer from the liver helps to keep it from spreading farther. Sometimes all the cancer in the liver can be removed with this surgery. But even when this surgery can't remove all the cancer from the liver, it usually helps people live longer.