Liver, Pancreas, Gall Bladder and Bile Duct Surgery

The digestive system is one of the most complicated and sensitive systems of the body. It is composed of many interconnected organs, both directly and indirectly, all mobilized for one particularly important objective: to make sure that all parts of the body receive the building blocks needed for their normal function. The digestive system is usually divided into two parts: the lower portion and the upper portion. The latter includes the liver, pancreas, gall bladder and bile ducts, and the field that pertains to their treatment is called hepatobiliary surgery.

Hepatobiliary surgery is not separate from other fields, especially not from the lower digestive system, as naturally and understandably, they both work in harmony, and together ensure the normal function of the entire system. The upper organs of the digestive system are very sensitive organs. Many operations in this field are therefore known as quite complex and considered to be multi-disciplinary, i.e. operations requiring the involvement and cooperation of surgeons expert in several medical fields.

General information about hepatobiliary surgery

Hepatobiliary surgery, operations of these upper organs of the digestive system, deals with some of the most sensitive organs of the digestive system and indeed of the entire body. This area has been a separate field for many years already, but recently it, like many other fields in modern medicine, has benefited from great, significant progress, due to many technological developments that have come into use.

Due to this progress, more and more operations in the upper portion of the digestive system are being performed by laparoscopy (minimally invasive surgery of the abdomen), and more and more of these are even being done robotically, using the Da Vinci robot, which has made the operations more precise and with significantly shorter recovery times. In the past, the tendency of many physicians was not to perform this type of surgery by the laparoscopic method, due to the area’s sensitivity, but over the years, due to the knowledge that has accumulated and improved technology, more and more hepatobiliary operations are being performed by this method.

Types of hepatobiliary surgery

The list of hepatobiliary operations includes many procedures, including some of the most complex in the world of surgery:

• Liver resection – complete or partial removal of the liver (including the removal of a liver lobe)
• Removal of the gall bladder
• Pancreas removal – head or tail
• Removal of malignant tumors from the upper digestive system
• Opening of narrowed or blocked portions of the bile ducts
• Drainage of fluids or widening of the bile ducts
• Shunt operations (leakage).

Diseases and health problems treated in the framework of hepatobiliary surgery:

• Benign and malignant tumors of the liver (including secondary tumors)
• Acute liver failure and chronic liver failure
• Liver cirrhosis
• Liver abscesses and cysts
• Tumors in the bile ducts and gall bladder
• Portal hypertension
• Malignant and benign tumors of the pancreas.

As mentioned above, many hepatobiliary operations today are performed by the minimally invasive approach, including complex procedures such as operations to remove a tumor from the liver. Also performed in the framework of this field are RFA treatments (treatments using invasive radiology), treatments that involve radio waves, percutaneous injection and many other treatments.

There is no doubt that hepatobiliary operations are mostly operations that are not at all simple, requiring of the physicians extensive knowledge and rich experience, both as regards familiarity with the organs of the upper digestive system and as regards the use of advanced technology available to practitioners in this field in recent years.

In all events, these operations are becoming more and more precise over the years, with ever increasing success rates as time passes. Operations that were in the past considered to be complicated and even impossible are today being performed frequently with an impressive level of success, offering patients a real solution to their problems, as well as an easier and briefer recovery process.