Liver resection. Preoperative and postoperative care.

Liver resection is an increasingly common procedure. Despite a wide variety of indications, the preoperative and postoperative care required is similar. Experience with liver resection and transplantation has brought to light the significant alterations in fluid and electrolytes, hemostasis, metabolism, and pulmonary function that may result. A thorough understanding of these changes is required to minimize the morbidity and mortality rates of these procedures. Postoperative hepatic failure is a devastating complication, and careful patient selection is required to avoid this. More work is needed to identify better methods of evaluating functional hepatic reserve.