Factors related to pleural effusion following hepatectomy for liver cancer

Objective To study the incidence and risk factors related to pleural effusion following hepatectomy for liver cancer and investigate the methods to evaluate these factors.Methods Two hundred and twenty-six cases admitted on our hospital from Jan.2002 to July 2007 are retrospectively analyzed.The factors related to postoperative pleural effusion were identified by Chi-square test with SPSS 13.0.Results The incidence of postoperative pleural effusions following hepatectomy was 23.01%.Univariate analysis showed significant differences in tumor location,operative time,blood loss amount,Pringle manoeuvre length,modus of hepatectomy and postoperative ascites collection(P0.01).Conclusion To strictly grasping hepatectomy indication,enhancing the liver protecting effects preoperatively and postoperatively,not expanding the excision scope blindly during operation,completing hepatectomy in the short time as soon as possible and reducing Pringle manoeuvre length may reduce the occurrence of postoperative pleural effusion.