Elisa Francone, Elena Muzio, Luigi D'Ambra, Carlo Aschele, Teseo Stefanini, Cinzia Sani, Emilio Falco, Stefano Berti
BACKGROUND: For the treatment of both primary and metastatic liver tumors, laparoscopic parenchyma-sparing surgery is advocated to reduce postoperative liver failure and facilitate reoperation in the case of recurrence. However, atypical and wedge resections are associated with a higher amount of intraoperative bleeding than are anatomical resections, and such bleeding is known to affect short- and long-term outcomes. Beyond the established role of radiofrequency and microwave ablation in the setting of inoperable liver tumors, the application of thermoablative energy along the plane of the liver surface to be transected results in a zone of coagulative necrosis, possibly minimizing bleeding of the cut liver surface during parenchymal transection...
March 2017: Surgical Endoscopy