Decreasing posthepatectomy liver failure.

During the 32-year period 1958–1989, 640 hepatic resections have been performed for primary liver cancer (PLC) at the Zhong Shan Hospital, Shanghai Medical University. The patients’ ages ranged from 13 to 76 years, with a median age of 49 years; 561 were male and 79 female, with a male/female ratio of 7.1:1. There were 210 cases with small PLC (≤5 cm). Liver cirrhosis was present in 85.2%, macronodular (cirrhotic nodule ≥0.3cm) amounted to 65.5% and micronodular (cirrhotic nodule <0.3cm) was 34.4% of the patients with cirrhosis.