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Hi
On august 8 I had pain in my stomach so I went to Gp he asked me to get a ultra sound done first report said I had mass in liver and ultra sound report said it could be primary or secondary tumour .Then my Gp asked me to get a Ct scan done which said it is a lession of 7 cm in my left lobe of liver I was refered to a hospital who refered me to a bigger hospital .for a month and a half I had several scans none of them said I have cancer all of the ct scans said its a liver lession and said it could be hydatid cyst or amoebic abscess .Hospital asked me to get blood tests done to find out what did I have all of the tests came negative for hydatid or amoebic abscess .i was then asked to get surgery done to remove it .on the pre operation day I was told left lobe resection will be done .I didn't know the left lobe resection means complete removal of it and it will not grow back .Operation went ahead fine on October 8 .after a week of operation I went to see my Gp I was quite happy after successful operation I told him left lobe resection was done he said but why the surgeon was suppose to remove only the lession why did he remove the whole left lobe .Since then I have bee. Really upset that why would he do that and I won't get my left lobe back and was not told that only right lobe grows to compensate for left side . I went to get my report from surgeon next week about the lession was told it was not cancer but just abscess and had he known he could have drain it .i have been shattered since then they have put me through such a big operation when they couldn't dignose it's just a liver abscess when some reports said it could be hepatic abscess questions like why was the entire left lobe resected is this medical negligence ? What if something happens to my right lobe i won't have left lobe to fall back on .will my liver will be as powerful as it use to be with both lobes ?Does right lobe grows and takes care of left lobe resected ? I am really stressed why did the doctor removed the whole left lobe when the abscess could have been drained ?Will not having left lobe affect my life in any way ?
Submitted:
4 Days
Category:
Gastroenterologist, Surgical
Hello,
Thank you for asking your query at DoctorSpring.
Consult reply by Dr.Vivek Verma MS MCh (Consultant Surgical Gastroenterologist). Consult reply drafted by Dr.Deepu Sebin as Dr.Verma chose not to directly deal with the reply due to possible medico legal issues.
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I am sorry to hear about the unfortunate incident. But I also hope that you will be relieved to know that this is not cancer. Well first of all I do not think that it was a typical abscess (with a typical presentation). Had it been your Doctors would have easily identified. I also see that the MDs did not rush through the procedure.(did lot of tests, waited) So with available information they chose to go with the best possible option - that is resection , to be on the safer side.
Now it is highly unlikely the entire left lobe is removed. And yes the right lobe will soon grow back and take care of liver function. It might not replace the left lobe, but it will grow well enough (anatomically and functionally). And under normal circumstance your life will not be affected. But God forbid if you happen to have a liver disease in future , you might be at higher risk for complication. So I would say you should not worry about this at all . Avoid alcohol. While taking any medications make sure that you discuss with your Doctor whether it is liver safe or not. Also make sure you have taken the Hepatitis B vaccine.
So bottom line is, with the limited information it seems your Surgeon acted on good faith. And you will and should live a normal life without worrying much about this. Do have periodic followups/
Hope this helps
Please feel free to ask followup questions.
Thank you
After report of pathology 264 grams of liver was resected is this this total weight of left lobe of liver ? How much is the total weight of left lobe of liver in a adult .Pathology report didn't say left lobe was resected only ultra sound report said left lobe is resected which I got it done from another place .
The total weight of liver ranges from 1200-2000 grams in adults. So as you can assume there is no major resection. Left lobe of liver is less than 1/3. The right lobe (the major part) will grow and compensate for the the rest of the liver.
Dr. VR
Mr verma I m very concerned as I had to go through such a operation for no reason I have too much of fatigue how long will it take for it to go away I have been in bed mostly .plus will I have a strong liver in future I'm someone who doesn't drink alcohol .will not having left lobe makes my liver weak ?also surgeon said only 15% of my liver was resected and I do have 85% of my liver .
Hello,
As I said under normal circumstances this 15% resection should not affect your life. The fatigue should resolve in 3-4 weeks. If not you will need repeat testing to rule out persisting infection.Also you will need to monitor the liver function based on the recommendation. You should be proactive and stay positive !
Hope this helps
Thank you