Hepatopancreatobiliary surgery is an incredibly long name that means surgery on the liver (hepato), the pancreas (pancreato) and the gallbladder and bile duct (the biliary tree). All these are next to each other at the top of the abdomen, and their functions are closely related. It’s usually called HPB surgery.
Mr Charles Imber is one of the UK’s foremost HPB surgeons. He trained as a specialist HPB surgeon and has many years of experience in operating on the most complex cases, including patients with liver cancer and pancreatic cancer.
Liver surgery
Liver surgery can be necessary to treat:
- A damaged liver after an accident
- Liver cysts or benign tumours, which need to be removed
- Liver cancers: these can be primary liver cancers or secondary tumours that have spread from cancers in other parts of the body
Pancreatic surgery
Pancreatic surgery is used in cases of:
- Pseudocysts of the pancreas
- Pancreatic cancers (cystic, solid, neuroendocrine)
- Pancreatitis (but it is fairly rare for surgery to be needed)
Bilary surgery
Biliary surgery is performed in patients with:
- Gallstones
- Benign strictures (narrowings) of the bile duct
- Gallbladder cancer
- Bile duct cancer
- Bile duct injuries that need repair (these can be a complication of gallbladder removal for gallstones)
- Gallbladder/bile duct congenital cysts