Overview of imaging in liver surgery

Abstract

Continuous improvement in imaging techniques plays an integral part of the evolvement in liver surgery. Accurate imaging is necessary for the diagnostics and surgeon’s preop­erative preparation, specifically for learning the individual anatomy, which is often var­iable in the liver, and for understanding the precise extent of pathology. A compelling area in preoperative evaluation is the assessment of the liver parenchyma function, for which the official guidelines have been published, specifying the precise indications, among other things. An upcoming method for assessing liver parenchyma function is magnetic resonance, which has the potential to evaluate both the volume and the func­tion of the future liver remnant. Beyond preoperative imaging, the real-time imaging directly in the operating room enables surgeons to perform the most complex procedures. With the growing establishment of minimally invasive approaches, fluorescent imaging using indocyanine green is increasingly utilized, presenting the main substitution of tactile perception during open resections in combination with ultrasound. The future potentially lies in targeted molecular imaging, which has the potential to eliminate the current shortcomings of imaging methods. We present an overview of current trends in liver imaging and a relevant literature.

doi: 10.48095/ccrvch202613