RESULTS OF SURGICAL-TREATMENT OF COLORECT AL LIVER SECONDARIES

Surgery is the only treatment which can achieve long-term survival of patients with colorectal liver secondaries. This study reports the res ults in 71 patients with liver metastases who underwent hepatis resect ion from January 1980 to December 1994. The mean age was 60 years (ran ge 37 to 80 years). Operations included 33 right hepatectomies, 5 exte nded right hepatectomies, 6 left hepatectomies, 11 left lobectomies, 1 5 segmentectomies and 10 metastasectomies. 44 patients underwent major hepatic resection. Surgery was macroscopically and microscopically cu rative in 61 patients, Information was not available in 2 patients, Si gnificant morbidity was observed in 37% of patients, Actuarial surviva l ar 1, 3 and 5 years was 83%, 27% and 20% respectively. At the end of the follow-up, 50 patients had died and 6 were lost to follow-up. Tec hniques of hepatic resection for secondaries are well established and postoperative mortality is low. Pending advances in chemotherapy, we r ecommend surgery as being the only way of improving long-term survival in patients with colorectal hepatic metastases.