We were interested to read the comprehensive review by Tzimas et al. [1] regarding epidural anaesthesia and analgesia for liver resection. The authors address the key issues concerning the use of epidural analgesia in this population of patients - efficacy, safety, peri-operative fluid management and the overall effect on patient outcomes.As a regional hepatobiliary centre, our unit performs over 100 hepatic resections every year. We have been using thoracic epidural analgesia as a component of standard peri-operative care since 1996, with no significant epidural-related morbidity to date (haematoma, abscess, permanent neurological damage), and published outcome data amongst the best in the UK [2].
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