Abstract: Objective To investigate the causes of pleural effusion after hepatectomy.Methods 133 cases of primary hepatic carcinoma(PHC) underwent hepatectomy were enrolled in this retrospective study.Results Pleural effusion emerged in 69 cases after hepatectomy.The ratio of cases underwent right hepatectomy especially with dissection of triangulare ligamentum and coronary ligament in pleural effusion group(group G1) was significantly higher than that in no-pleural effusion group(group G2). The volume of effusion after operation in group G1 was larger than that in group G2.The postoperative hepatic function was much better in group G2 than that in group G1.There was no statistically significant different between the two groups concerning the factors such as preoperative hepatic function,volume of bleeding,obstructive time of portal vein and size of tumor.Conclusions Complicated pleural effusion after hepatectomy is mainly related to operative site,postoperative hepatic function and dissection of peri-hepatic ligaments.The main causes of pleural effusion are the dissection of right hepatic ligaments and damage of diaphragm during operation.Maintenance of fine hepatic function before and after operation,careful dissection of peri-hepatic ligaments and avoiding damage on diaphragm may help to reduce the incidence of postoperative pleural effusion.

Key words: Primary hepatic carcinoma(PHC), Pleural effusion