Resectability of liver tumours evaluated by computed tomography

In a retrospective study of CT examinations of liver tumours in 37 patients intra- and extrahepatic tumour growth was estimated in order to see if resectability could be predicted. The findings were compared with the evaluation at laparatomy. Four out of 15 tumours, resectable according to CT, turned out to be unresectable and 9 out of 37 CT examinations did not reveal the total extent of tumour growth. A more reliable preoperative radiologic assessment may be obtained by improvement of current CT techniques, by computed tomographic angiography, intraoperative ultrasound or MR imaging.