Background:

The impact of postoperative morbidity, and in particular infective complications on long-term outcomes, following hepatic resection for colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) is not widely published.

Objective:

To evaluate the effect of postoperative complications on disease recurrence and overall survival in patients undergoing hepatic resection for CRLM.

Methods:

All patients undergoing hepatic resection for CRLM from January 1993 and March 2007 were identified, and postoperative complications analyzed. Patients who died of postoperative complications within 30 days of surgery were excluded form the study. Postoperative complications were graded using a validated system of classification. Complications were further classified into infective and noninfective complication groups and the primary end points of the study were disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) at 5 years.

Result:

A total of 705 patients underwent hepatic resection in the study period. Median follow-up was 38 months. Operative morbidity and mortality were 28% and 3.6%, respectively. The total number of patients was 197 (28%) with complications, and 508 (72%) without complications. The 5 year DFS and OS for those with and without complications were: 13% versus 26%(P< 0.001) and 24% versus 37%(P< 0.001), respectively. Multivariate analysis showed inflammatory response to tumor score, blood transfusion, tumor number> 8, and postoperative sepsis to be independent factors associated with DFS, and inflammatory response to tumor, tumor number> 8, and postoperative sepsis to be independent predictors for OS. Intra-abdominal and respiratory infection but not wound infections were associated with poorer long-term outcomes.

Conclusions:

Postoperative complications influence long-term outcomes in hepatic resection for CRLM. Specifically, postoperative sepsis is an independent predictor of disease free and overall survival. Thorough preoperative optimization, meticulous surgical technique and careful management in the postoperative period may reduce the incidence of these complications and influence long-term outcomes.