The body’s deepest organs deserve its most honest assessment.
HPB surgery is where judgement matters as much as technique: the right answer is sometimes a major resection, sometimes a two-stage strategy, and sometimes — said kindly but plainly — that an operation is not the best option.
What does HPB surgery cover?
Liver tumours — both primary cancers and metastases from elsewhere — plus gallbladder cancer, bile duct tumours (cholangiocarcinoma) and pancreatic cancer. These are among the most complex operations in oncology.
The liver has a remarkable property: it regenerates. Modern HPB surgery is built on this fact — remnant-liver volume can be measured before cutting anything, and two-stage strategies let one side grow while the other is cleared.
Our rule: operability is assessed honestly, every time. A major resection offered wrongly helps no one — and a curable patient turned away helps no one either. The scans decide, not the sales pitch.
Warning signs these glands send early
Jaundice and its cousins are the body’s dashboard lights for this region. Any of them deserves same-week attention — most turn out treatable, benign even.
- ①Yellow eyes or skin (jaundice) — especially painless jaundice, which still needs urgent answers.
- ②Persistent itching across the whole body, without any rash.
- ③Pale or clay-coloured stools — bile isn’t reaching where it should.
- ④Dark urine, new and persistent, without low fluid intake.
- ⑤Pain in the upper-right abdomen, constant or returning.
- ⑥Sudden diabetes with weight loss, especially after age fifty — the pancreas can be the hidden reason.
- ⑦Unexplained fever occurring with jaundice — never wait this one out at home.
- ⑧Any combination of the above — together they tell more than any single sign alone.
Organs we operate on
◆Liver — Primary
Primary liver tumours treated with segment-oriented resections preserving healthy tissue.
◆Liver — Metastatic
Spread from bowel and other primaries assessed for curative metastasectomy.
◆Gallbladder
Radical cholecystectomy performed to standard when cancer is found or suspected.
◆Bile Duct
Cholangiocarcinoma managed with duct resection and hepaticojejunostomy reconstruction.
◆Pancreas
Whipple procedure and distal resections at centres equipped for their aftermath.
◆Small Remnant Planning
ALPPS/PVE strategies letting one liver half grow before the other is resected.
Operations performed here
- ◆Segment-oriented liver resectionsRight and left hepatectomies mapped to the liver’s true internal anatomy.
- ◆Whipple procedurePancreaticoduodenectomy — the region’s defining operation, done where outcomes are watched closely.
- ◆Distal pancreatectomy + splenectomyFor body and tail tumours, planned around spleen function where safe.
- ◆Radical cholecystectomyGallbladder cancer handled completely the first time — re-excision is harder than doing it right.
- ◆Bile duct resectionWith hepaticojejunostomy reconstruction restoring drainage properly.
- ◆ALPPS / PVE planningTwo-stage strategies for small remnant livers — growth first, then cure.
From first visit to full recovery
Triple-phase imaging
Dedicated CT/MRI maps every lesion against every vessel.
Honest operability call
Resectable, borderline, or not — stated clearly, with reasons.
Volume planning
Remnant-liver measured; staged growth strategies if needed.
Surgery
Precision resection with drainage and reconstruction as planned.
Regeneration care
Liver function monitored daily; nutrition and physio from day one.
Surveillance
Scan schedule agreed before discharge — nothing left vague.
Families usually ask…
It is major surgery, and honest centres publish their results rather than promise zero risk. What protects you most is planning: modern imaging, remnant-volume assessment, and experienced teams have transformed the safety of liver resections over the past decade.
Yes — uniquely among human organs, a healthy liver regenerates. Surgery removes diseased segments and the remaining tissue enlarges over weeks. This biology is exactly what makes two-stage strategies possible.
The pancreas sits against critical vessels and leaks are unforgiving — so outcomes depend heavily on volume and experience. It deserves respect, not fear: properly selected patients do well, and the alternative of not operating is rarely kind.
No — stones, infections and medicine effects cause most jaundice. But new jaundice always needs proper imaging to find the cause quickly, because when it IS a tumour, days matter.
Operability in HPB disease is genuinely a grey zone — assessments differ with training and with available planning tools. A structured second opinion with fresh imaging review costs little and regularly changes the plan in either direction.