Liver and Bile Duct Cancer Surgery

The liver is one of the largest organs in the body, filling the upper right side of the abdomen inside the rib cage. The liver's role is to filter harmful substances from the blood so they can be passed from the body in stool and urine and convert nutrients into ready-to-use chemicals. It produces key proteins that control blood clotting, makes bile to help digest fats from food and stores glycogen (sugar), which the body uses for energy. Conditions such as cirrhosis, hepatitis B or C, hemochromatosis, and heavy alcohol use can increase the risk of developing liver cancer.
Cholangiocarcinoma is a cancerous (malignant) growth in one of the ducts that carries bile from the liver to the small intestine. It is also called bile duct cancer.
Primary liver and bile duct cancers are the fifth most common cause of cancer death in men and the ninth most common cause of cancer death in women. More than 90 percent of all cases occur in people age 45 or older. Men are more than twice as likely as women to develop and die from liver and bile duct cancers, and African Americans and Hispanics are almost twice as likely to develop these cancers as whites.
Symptoms may include weight loss, blood in the stool, jaundice, fatigue, fluid in abdomen. Depending on the size of the tumor, your surgeon will probably opt to remove the tumor and remove a portion of the liver. Sometimes the tumor can be frozen or otherwise treated with radiation or microwave treatments. In other cases, your surgeon may recommend a liver transplant.