The Glissonian pedicle provides access to the portal vein, hepatic artery, and bile duct branches serving the planned liver territory. By identifying and controlling this shared bundle, surgeons can determine which portal segment, section, or lobe is associated with the tumor and then divide the liver along that territory. This links vascular inflow and biliary drainage to the resection plan.
Couinaud segmental anatomy maps the liver into portal territories that can guide the extent of resection. This allows surgeons to match the tumor-bearing segment, section, or lobe with its corresponding vascular and biliary structures rather than removing uninvolved tissue without an anatomical rationale. The resulting plan supports tumor removal while conserving as much unaffected parenchyma as possible.
Safe planning depends on vascular inflow, biliary drainage, the internal portal anatomy, and the function of the liver that remains after surgery. These factors help determine whether the intended territory can be removed while preserving adequate uninvolved parenchyma. Their assessment is therefore connected not only to operative safety, but also to postoperative recovery and remaining liver function.
The procedure begins by locating the tumor-bearing portal territory and its corresponding Glissonian pedicle. Surgeons then control the pedicle, which contains the relevant portal vein, hepatic artery, and bile duct branches, and divide the liver along the associated segmental, sectional, or lobar boundary. The planned resection removes the involved territory while aiming to preserve uninvolved liver tissue.
This approach is considered for selected primary or metastatic liver tumors when removal of the involved anatomical territory is appropriate. Its planning requires attention to the tumor location, the corresponding portal anatomy, and the function of the liver that will remain. The intended benefit is complete tumor removal with less unnecessary loss of uninvolved parenchyma.
Anatomical planning seeks to balance complete removal of the tumor with preservation of functional liver tissue. By matching the resection to a defined portal territory, surgeons can avoid removing unrelated parenchyma when the tumor can be addressed more selectively. The adequacy of the remaining liver, together with vascular and biliary considerations, is important for postoperative recovery.