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In this review of a collected series of patients undergoing hepatic resection for colorectal metastases, 100 patients were found to have survived greater than five years from the time of resection. Of these 100 long-term survivors, 71 remain disease-free through the last follow-up, 19 recurred prior to five years, and ten recurred after five years. Patient characteristics that may have contributed to survival were examined. Procedures performed included five trisegmentectomies, 32 lobectomies, 16 left lateral segmentectomies, and 45 wedge resections. The margin of resection was recorded in 27 patients, one of whom had a positive margin, nine of whom had a less than or equal to 1-cm margin, and 17 of whom had a greater than 1-cm margin. Eighty-one patients had a solitary metastasis to the liver, 11 patients had two metastases, one patient had three metastases, and four patients had four metastases. Thirty patients had Stage C primary carcinoma, 40 had Stage B primary carcinoma, and one had Stage A primary carcinoma. The disease-free interval from the time of colon resection to the time of liver resection was less than one year in 65 patients, and greater than one year in 34 patients. Three patients had bilobar metastases. Four of the patients had extrahepatic disease resected simultaneously with the liver resection. Though several contraindications to hepatic resection have been proposed in the past, five-year survival has been found in patients with extrahepatic disease resected simultaneously, patients with bilobar metastases, patients with multiple metastases, and patients with positive margins. Five-year disease-free survivors are also present in each of these subsets. It is concluded that five-year survival is possible in the presence of reported contraindications to resection, and therefore that the decision to resect the liver must be individualized.

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the role of high‐resolution real‐time sonography in the diagnosis of spigelian hernias. The sonographic findings in three patients, two of whom had surgical confirmation, are presented. We also discuss and demonstrate the anatomic and pathologic factors that predispose to these hernias. In all three cases, real‐time high‐resolution sonography was very helpful in providing detailed images of the abdominal wall defect, the hernial sac and contents, and the relationship of the contents to the spigelian fascia and the rectus, external oblique, and internal oblique muscles. The role of the Valsalva and other provocative maneuvers in demonstrating the "in and out" sliding movement of the contents of the hernia also is discussed. Although the number of cases in our study is small, we think that this modality may be the most effective means for establishing this diagnosis, especially in cases with equivocal clinical findings.

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