Resection offers the only hope of cure for the hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). Improvement in operative and anesthetic techniques and a greater anatomic understanding have improved the safety of hepatectomy. But, the long-term prognosis of patients who have undergone hepatic re-section for HCC is not yet satisfactory, because a high incidence of tumor recurrence in the liver remnant has been noticed. And intrahepatic recurrence is the main cause of the death in patients who underwent hepatectomy for HCC. Early detection and qualitative diagnosis of small recurrent HCC by the serial check of serum a-FP level and the imaging techniques, including ultrasonography and CT, is the most important for the curative resection.
The surgical treatment of recurrent HCC is usually more arduous than that of primary HCC because of reduced hepatic functional reserve and various technical difficulties.. Nevertheless, repeated operations should be considered in patients with recurrent HCC because conservative treatment usually fail.
We have known that the aggressive surgical policy, that is, the repeated resection, is a´possible and meaningful method of treatment for the patients with recurrent HCC in the liver remnant. In this article, our own experience with repeated resection for recurrent HCC is reported.
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