Medically Reviewed By: Dr. Neeraj Goel, MBBS, MS, MCh (GI Surgery)
Designation: Director – GI Oncology, GI & HPB Surgery
Clinical Review Date: August 18, 2026
Liver cancer occurs when abnormal cells inside the liver grow out of control. Tumors here generally fall into two main groups:
Treating liver cancer is always a balancing act: we need to get rid of the tumor completely while making sure you keep enough working liver tissue to stay healthy.
Early on, liver tumors rarely hurt. Most patients find them incidentally on a routine ultrasound or a scan ordered for an upset stomach. As a growth gets bigger, your body starts sending up warning signs:
If your liver is otherwise in good shape, cutting the tumor out gives you the best shot at a long-term cure. The surgeon removes the bad section of the liver along with a safe rim of healthy tissue around it.
The liver is the only organ in your body that can actually rebuild itself. In a patient without severe underlying cirrhosis, the healthy tissue left behind quickly begins expanding, rebuilding adequate working capacity within just a few weeks.
The exact procedure depends on the tumor's size, depth, and where it sits next to major blood vessels:
Minimally Invasive Techniques help you heal faster:
Surgery is not the answer for all tumors. Advanced tumors are treated with a combination of different modalities.
For more than twenty years, we have focused on the delicate work of complex liver, bile duct, and gastrointestinal cancer surgery. Today, that experience comes together with robotic and keyhole tools, letting us remove tumors through tiny, gentle cuts rather than large incisions. Because no two livers are alike, you won't just have a surgeon in your corner—you'll have a close-knit team of liver specialists, radiologists, and oncologists all sitting at the same table to tailor a care plan that protects your liver and fits your life.
Liver surgery is all about finding the right balance: removing the tumor completely while preserving enough healthy liver tissue. For early-stage tumors, using robotic and keyhole tools lets us remove the growth cleanly through small incisions. Most of our patients are up and walking the very next day and ready to head home in 4 to 6 days.
Yes, absolutely. When we spot the tumor early and take it out completely with clean margins, surgery gives you the cleanest shot at a long-term cure or lasting remission.
We run detailed contrast scans and liver function blood tests before doing anything. This allows us to calculate the exact size and strength of the healthy liver that will stay behind after the tumor is gone.
In a healthy liver without cirrhosis, we can remove up to 70% of the tissue because it regenerates so quickly. For cirrhotic livers, a larger portion of the liver must be left behind.
The liver starts regenerating immediately. It reaches sufficient volume within a few weeks.
The cancer that originates in the liver cell is primary liver cancer.Metastatic cancer starts somewhere else in the gut—like the colon, appendix, or stomach—and travels to the liver through the blood. Both can often be treated surgically depending on how many spots there are.
Not necessarily. While higher Alpha-Fetoprotein levels can point to a tumor, simple inflammation or active hepatitis can bump those numbers up too. We always confirm things with a dedicated CT or MRI scan before making a diagnosis.
Because robotic incisions are tiny and spare your abdominal muscles, you deal with far less pain and bounce back much faster. Most of our patients are out of bed the next morning and heading home in about 4 to 6 days.
