A totally laparoscopic associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy assisted with radiofrequency (radiofrequency assisted liver partition with portal vein ligation) for staged liver resection

Liver resection remains the gold standard treatment modality for patients suffering from primary or secondary liver tumours. It is the only option that offers the possibility of long-term survival (1). Almost half of resectable cases require an extended hepatectomy to obtain a negative resection margin, a key determinant for long-term survival (2). However, the future liver remnant (FLR) of the liver must make up at least 25% of the total liver volume (3) and thus only 10–20% of patients are suitable for this surgery (4). In order to increase the FLR size prior to surgical resection, a number of techniques have been implemented by clinicians. This has resulted in an increase in candidates for hepatic resection (5) and a reduced risk of postoperative liver failure after major hepatectomy (6)