Liver surgery aims to remove all the cancer from the body.
Learn more about:
How the surgery is done
This may be done by removing the part of the liver affected by cancer (known as a liver resection or partial hepatectomy) or by removing the whole liver and replacing it with a liver from a donor (liver transplant). Your surgeon will talk to you about the most appropriate surgery for you, as well as the risks and any possible complications.
For more on this, see our general section on Surgery.
Informed consent
There are risks associated with any type of surgery. A surgeon needs your agreement (consent) before performing the operation. Receiving relevant information about the benefits and risks of surgery before agreeing to it is called informed consent.
Video: Treating liver cancer with surgery
Dr Vincent Lam talks about how surgery is used to treat liver cancer.
Podcast: Making Treatment Decisions
Listen to more episodes from our podcast for people affected by cancer
A/Prof Simone Strasser, Hepatologist, AW Morrow Gastroenterology and Liver Centre, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and The University of Sydney, NSW (clinical update); A/Prof Siddhartha Baxi, Radiation Oncologist and Medical Director, GenesisCare, Gold Coast, QLD (clinical update); Prof Katherine Clark, Clinical Director of Palliative Care, NSLHD Supportive and Palliative Care Network, Northern Sydney Cancer Centre, Royal North Shore Hospital, NSW; Anne Dowling, Hepatoma Clinical Nurse Consultant and Liver Transplant Coordinator, Austin Health, VIC; A/Prof Koroush Haghighi, Liver, Pancreas and Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon, Prince of Wales and St Vincent’s Hospitals, NSW; Karen Hall, 131120 Consultant, Cancer Council SA; Dr Brett Knowles, Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary and General Surgeon, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and St Vincent’s Hospital, VIC; Lina Sharma, Consumer; David Thomas, Consumer; Clinical A/Prof Michael Wallace, Department of Hepatology and Western Australian Liver Transplant Service, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Medical School, The University of Western Australia, WA; Prof Desmond Yip, Clinical Director, Department of Medical Oncology, The Canberra Hospital, ACT.
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