Conditions that affect the liver and nearby tissues (such as bile ducts) require specialized expertise that's not available everywhere. At Penn Medicine, we have a decades-long track record of safely and successfully performing complicated liver resection surgeries. Our expertise offers you more options for positive results and better quality of life.
Liver and Bile Duct Surgery: Why Choose Penn Medicine?
As a high-volume center for major liver resection surgery, we perform many intricate liver surgeries. We offer expert guidance, specialized options and a commitment to providing the best possible care experience.
Other notable features of our program include:
- Surgical expertise: Our large hepatobiliary team totals several decades of experience performing many different types of liver surgeries. This level of expertise in all types of liver tumors and bile duct problems is unrivaled in the Philadelphia region. Meet our GI surgery team.
- Expansive multidisciplinary team: At weekly multidisciplinary meetings, a large team of specialists decides on the best treatment approach for you. We combine our expertise to make the best liver tumor care decisions, leading to exceptional quality of care.
- Outstanding outcomes: We perform more liver resection surgeries than most programs in the region, including complex cases like metastatic liver tumors and advanced bile duct cancer. Our patients experience low rates of complications and consistently excellent results.
- Leading treatments: Penn provides the latest treatment options for all types of liver and bile duct concerns. We offer specialized therapies, such as hepatic artery infusion pumps and liver transplants, not offered at most centers in the region. Interventional therapies (minimally invasive procedures that deliver cancer drugs directly to the liver) and clinical trials provide additional options for inoperable tumors.
- Convenience and flexibility: Our surgeons perform liver and bile duct surgery at three downtown Philadelphia hospitals and other locations throughout the region so you can get the care you need close to home. In some cases, telemedicine (virtual visits) may offer you more flexibility when scheduling a follow-up appointment after surgery. Learn more about our telemedicine services.
Liver and Bile Duct Conditions We Treat
Our surgeons treat all types of liver tumors and bile duct conditions, including:
- Abscess: A liver abscess is a pus-filled tumor that may develop due to a nearby infection or injury.
- Adenomas: These benign (noncancerous) liver tumors often affect women ages 20 to 50.
- Bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma): We treat all types of bile duct cancers, including intrahepatic carcinoma (inside the liver) and hilar cholangiocarcinoma (just outside the liver).
- Bile duct injury: Damaged bile duct tissue sometimes happens during surgery.
- Primary liver cancer: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) makes up the majority of primary liver cancers (that develop inside the liver).
- Liver hemangiomas: This benign liver tumor is a cluster of blood vessels.
- Metastatic liver cancer: Liver metastases are malignant (cancer) liver tumors that first developed somewhere else in the body. Metastatic colon cancer commonly spreads to the liver.
Liver (Hepatic) Resection Surgery
Liver resection (hepatectomy) surgery removes part of the liver while leaving healthy tissue intact. We perform this surgery to remove all types of liver tumors, including benign liver tumors, metastatic liver cancer and rare bile duct cancer. In some cases, a surgeon may need to remove additional tissues, such as nearby bile duct tissue or lymph nodes.
Liver resection surgery is a major, complicated surgery. Choosing a surgeon who is experienced in performing liver surgery increases the likelihood of better results.
We perform more than 75 liver resection surgeries every year — a high volume for the Philadelphia region. We regularly perform the most complicated resection procedures, often when other centers in the area can't.
Laparoscopic Liver and Bile Duct Surgery
Penn surgeons are skilled in the latest minimally invasive surgical techniques, including laparoscopic liver and bile duct surgery. Laparoscopic surgery requires only tiny incisions and may mean a shorter hospital stay and faster, less painful recovery.
Liver and Bile Duct Cancer Surgery
Surgery to remove a cancerous tumor offers the best chance of curing liver and bile duct cancer. Penn's experienced surgeons have many years of experience performing a high volume of these procedures. We regularly treat rare and complex cases with positive outcomes.
Liver and bile duct cancer treatment often requires several types of therapies, and sometimes more than one surgery. The order you receive treatments can impact overall effectiveness. Our surgeons coordinate with your team of cancer specialists (including interventional radiologists and medical oncologists) to personalize your care.
At Penn, you have access to specialized cancer treatments that aren't widely available, such as hepatic artery infusion pumps. This surgically placed pump delivers powerful doses of chemotherapy directly to the liver, enhancing treatment and minimizing side effects.
Learn more about Penn's treatment options for liver cancer surgery and bile duct cancer surgery.
Liver Transplant Surgery
Through a close collaboration with the robust Penn Liver Transplant Program, we streamline access to life-changing liver transplant surgery for eligible patients. Liver transplant removes an entire diseased liver and replaces it with part or all of a healthy organ from a living or deceased donor. It's an additional option for some people with HCC liver tumors that can't be removed.
We've performed thousands of liver transplant surgeries, with excellent outcomes. No other program in the region has our level of experience performing liver transplants to treat liver cancer.
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