ABSTRACT
N. Joseph Espat Introduction Colorectal metastases confined to the liver will develop in up one-third of the
140,000 patients per year newly diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Unfortunately, surgically resectable hepatic disease occurs in only 20-30% of these patients. In brief, patients with hepatic metastases considered for surgical resection must be free of extrahepatic disease. Although bilobar hepatic metastases are no longer consid ered to be a contraindication to resection, the resection should be anatomic with preservation of portal vein inflow and hepatic vein outflow to the residual liver. A more detailed discussion on the concepts relevant to the assessment o f these patients as operative candidates is contained elsewhere in this text.
