For many patients, the best treatment for tumors in the liver is surgery, which is called liver resection. With major liver surgery, there is a chance that you will require a transfusion of blood products (either red blood cells or plasma) either during, or a few days after surgery. The surgeons at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) perform a very large number of liver resections every year, and have pioneered techniques that minimize bleeding during the operation. Even so, liver operations such as the one you will undergo have a 30% chance of requiring a transfusion. One technique that has been shown to lower the need for transfusions is called acute normovolemic hemodilution (ANH). ANH was first introduced over 20 years ago, and has been used in many types of operations, including liver resection. The studies done on ANH here at MSKCC and at other hospitals suggest that it may help conserve blood and lower the risk of you needing a blood transfusion. In fact, a recent study completed here showed that patients who received ANH while undergoing a major liver resection were half as likely to require a blood transfusion.~Researchers at MSKCC are conducting a study to determine the best way to assign patients to receive ANH. Currently, patients are assigned to undergo ANH based on the amount of liver that is expected to be removed (also called 'extent of resection'). We are looking at whether assigning patients to receive ANH based on a nomogram more appropriately selects patients who would benefit from undergoing ANH. A nomogram is a predictive mathematical tool that uses a point system to evaluate each patient's anticipated blood transfusion needs based on the data from many previous patients with the same condition(s). Using this method, your risk of requiring a blood transfusion will be calculated, and depending on the predicted risk of transfusion, you may or may not be selected to undergo ANH. All patients will undergo randomization (a computer-generated decision, as in the flip of a coin): half will be assigned to the arm using the nomogram-based selection for ANH, and half will be assigned based on the planned operative procedure.
The purpose of this study is to learn the best method of assigning patients to receive acute normovolemic hemodilution during liver surgery.