Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
The Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, part of the Department of Medicine, offers world-class patient care, research programs, and education and training opportunities.
Hepatobiliary Surgery
Treatment for liver, bile duct and gallbladder disease
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Advanced Liver Procedures from Uniquely Qualified Surgeons
Sometimes, we use surgery to treat liver and other hepatobiliary (bile duct and gallbladder) conditions. At Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), our hepatobiliary specialists do traditional open surgeries. But they also use advanced techniques, such as minimally invasive (laparoscopic) surgery and other specialized procedures to offer you the most up-to-date liver disease treatments. When you need liver surgery, you’ll find expertise through our Liver Center that you won’t find everywhere.
Treatment That’s Personalized for You
When you require tumor removal or treatment for certain other liver diseases, surgery may be the first-line therapy. In other cases, doctors may recommend medications or non-surgical procedures first. If these treatments don’t provide the results you’re hoping for, we may consider surgery. Our experts carefully evaluate your condition to determine the treatment that’s best for you. We focus on providing you with the best liver care available.
More About Hepatobiliary Surgery
Our Hepatobiliary Surgeons
At BIDMC, transplant surgeons may perform surgery on your liver, bile ducts, and gallbladder. This is true even if you don’t require a transplant.
Transplant surgeons complete training as general surgeons first. Then they focus on organ transplantation, including liver transplants. At BIDMC, you get exceptional care because of our experience and expertise in caring for people with liver disease and operating on the liver. We’ve mastered the complexities of the liver and biliary system — the organs and ducts that produce and store bile and release it into the small intestine.
We also understand and value the importance of nurturing a long-term relationship with you. It’s likely you’ll need lifelong monitoring and treatment for hepatobiliary illness. Many times, working together with other BIDMC specialists, we can manage liver and other hepatobiliary conditions to help prevent further complications. This includes delaying transplant, should it become necessary, for as long as possible.
Minimally Invasive Surgery Expertise
Whenever possible, our surgeons use minimally invasive (laparoscopic) procedures. Traditional, open surgical procedures often require long incisions. The incisions can be painful and take a long time to heal. Minimally invasive procedures allow us to operate through one or more small incisions, or cuts in your abdomen, using a laparoscope. A laparoscope is a tool that we insert through a tiny tube that’s passed into your abdominal incision. We operate using a camera with a light on its tip and surgical tools that go through the tube.
Compared to open surgery, this surgery causes less pain and fewer complications. It also usually results in a shorter hospital stay. All of this may make treatment easier on you.
Procedures & Treatments
Among the procedures we offer are the following:
- Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal): Normally, your gallbladder stores bile that’s produced in your liver. The bile helps with digestion. Sometimes, however, gallstones form in the duct that transports the bile. This may cause the gallbladder to swell, leading to pain and possibly infection. Removing your gallbladder may become necessary.
- Portal decompressive procedures for portal hypertension (elevated pressure within the liver): We also do these procedures for bleeding varices (enlarged veins in your gastrointestinal tract that bleed due to portal hypertension). Surgery involves rerouting blood in your liver using special shunts. This lowers pressure in varicose veins. However, it may not be a good option for you if you have advanced liver disease. In addition, doctors may not recommend it if you’re at risk for developing liver failure or mental confusion because of the buildup of toxins in your blood after surgery.
- Surgery of your gallbladder and bile duct for benign disease: We provide laparoscopic treatment for bile duct injuries and narrowing, and bile duct stones that can’t be removed with a flexible endoscope (lighted tube introduced through the mouth).
- Surgery for noncancerous diseases of the liver, including laparoscopic liver resection (removal of part of the liver).
Hepatobiliary Cancer Care
We work closely with our cancer care experts to perform cancer surgery. This includes surgery for liver cancer. Other treatments we specialize in include:
- Chemoembolization: targeted chemotherapy to starve and shrink a tumor by blocking its blood supply.
- Intra-arterial infusion pumps: timed release of chemotherapy via a pump implanted in an artery. This targets liver cancer that can’t be removed with surgery.
- Local (targeted) and systemic (treating the whole system) chemotherapy.
- Radiofrequency ablation: using heat and radio waves to destroy tumor cells.
What To Expect Before & After Surgery
Before your surgery, we go over the procedure in detail and talk about the benefits and risks. We teach you how to prepare and what to expect in surgery and during your hospital stay. We encourage you to ask any questions so you can get as comfortable as possible.
We prepare you for life after your procedure as well.
