Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
Choosing a liver surgeon: what to ask about experience and volume | CION Cancer Clinics
Choose a liver surgeon whose team operates on the liver regularly and who answers your questions about experience and complications openly. Liver surgery goes more safely with practised teams, not only practised hands. This page gives you the questions to ask, explains what reassuring answers sound like, and helps you decide when a second opinion is worth getting before you agree to an operation. At CION Cancer Clinics, a multidisciplinary tumour board weighs your liver function and your scans before recommending any treatment.
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Medically reviewed by Dr. Muralidhar MuddusettyConsultant Surgical Oncologist · MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery, AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh) · last reviewed October 2026, next review due October 2027
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On this page
- What should I look for in a liver surgeon?
- What can I ask a liver surgeon without causing offence?
- How do I check a surgeon's experience before I agree?
- What does a reassuring answer sound like?
- Four ideas families bring, and what is actually true
- What this page cannot tell you
- Common questions about choosing a liver surgeon
The short answer
What should I look for in a liver surgeon?
Look for a surgeon who does liver operations regularly, works with a team that does them regularly, and will tell you honestly how often they operate and what happens when things go wrong. Experience matters in liver surgery more than in many other operations, because the liver bleeds easily and the part left behind has to keep you alive.
Why volume is the question people ask
Studies from many countries have found that complex operations on the liver, pancreas and oesophagus tend to go more safely in hospitals and teams that do them often. The surgeon's hands are only part of it. The anaesthetist, the intensive care nurses, the radiologist who can stop a bleed and the ward team who spot a bile leak early all improve with practice too.
Who this page is for
This page is for families who have been told a liver tumour may be removable and want to choose well. It applies to primary liver cancer and to cancer that has spread to the liver. If you were told surgery is not possible, read why surgery is often impossible in cirrhosis first.
A high number on its own does not make a surgeon right for you. Honest answers matter just as much.Questions worth asking
What can I ask a liver surgeon without causing offence?
Good surgeons expect these questions. Ask them calmly and write the answers down.
How often do you do this operation?
Ask about liver resections in particular, not cancer surgery in general. A surgeon who mostly operates on the bowel or stomach may still do occasional liver work, which is a different thing.
Who else is on the team?
Ask whether a hepatologist, an interventional radiologist and an intensive care team are available every day, including nights and weekends. Problems after liver surgery do not wait for Monday.
What happens if something goes wrong?
Every surgeon has complications. Ask which ones are most common after this operation and how they are handled.
Listen for
- Bleeding and how it is controlled
- Bile leak and how it is drained
- The liver struggling for a while afterwards
Was my scan seen by a tumour board?
A plan agreed by surgeons, oncologists and radiologists together is safer than one doctor's view. Ask whether your case was discussed.
Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistDoing your homework
How do I check a surgeon's experience before I agree?
Gather every report first
Bring the triple-phase CT or MRI on a disc, the written reports, any biopsy result and recent blood tests. A surgeon cannot judge whether a tumour is removable from a report alone.
Ask the direct questions
Use the questions above. Notice whether the answers are specific or vague. A surgeon who says "we do many" without explaining is giving you less than you need.
Ask how much liver will be left
Surgeons measure the part of the liver that will remain. Ask whether this was calculated for you. Our page on the future liver remnant explains why it decides so much.
Get a second opinion if you are unsure
A second surgical view is normal practice, not an insult. It is most useful before the operation date is fixed. See getting a second opinion on a liver cancer plan.
Decide together as a family
Many families in Telangana and Andhra decide jointly. Share the written answers so everyone is weighing the same facts.
Side by side
What does a reassuring answer sound like?
A reassuring answer
A reason to ask more
Explains how often the team does liver resections
Changes the subject or quotes only total operations
Names the common complications plainly
Says there is nothing to worry about
Talks about your liver function, not only the tumour
Never mentions cirrhosis or Child-Pugh
Mentions other options such as ablation or transplant
Presents surgery as the only possible path
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Commonly believed
Four ideas families bring, and what is actually true
"The most famous hospital must have the right surgeon."
A large name does not tell you how often a particular team operates on the liver. Ask about this operation and this team, not the building.
"Asking questions will annoy the doctor."
Experienced surgeons expect them. A clear conversation about risk is part of informed consent, and it protects you and the surgeon.
"Keyhole surgery is always the safer choice."
Laparoscopic resection suits some tumours in some positions. For others, open surgery is safer. The right approach depends on where the tumour sits and on the surgeon's experience with each method.
"If a surgeon agrees to operate, surgery must be right."
Agreement to operate is not the same as surgery being the right choice for your liver. Sometimes ablation, TACE or transplant does more good with less risk, and a tumour board weighs these together.
Being straight with you
What this page cannot tell you
It cannot tell you whether your tumour can be removed or which surgeon is right for you. That needs a specialist to look at your actual scans, your blood tests and how well your liver is working. Nothing written online can stand in for that.
It cannot give you a safe number
There is no single count of operations that marks a safe surgeon, and published studies do not agree on one. We have deliberately not given a figure. Use the questions on this page to judge experience honestly instead.
Who this does not apply to
If your liver is badly scarred, or the tumour has spread widely, the choice of surgeon may not be the deciding question at all. Treatment may be ablation, TACE, transplant or medicines instead. At CION, surgical oncologists assess and plan liver operations with the tumour board, and your team will tell you where the operation takes place.
If you are unsure whether a surgical plan makes sense, call the helpline and ask for the case to be reviewed.Questions we are asked
Common questions about choosing a liver surgeon
Does it matter which surgeon removes a liver tumour?
Yes. Liver resection is one of the more demanding cancer operations. Teams that do it often tend to have fewer serious problems and handle problems faster when they happen. The surgeon matters, and so does the whole team around them, including intensive care and radiology.
Is a hepatobiliary surgeon different from a general surgeon?
A hepatobiliary surgeon has extra training and regular practice in operations on the liver, bile ducts and pancreas. A surgical oncologist may also do liver work. Ask about experience with liver resections specifically, whatever title the surgeon holds.
Can I ask how many liver operations a surgeon has done?
Yes. It is a fair question and most surgeons will answer it. Ask how often the team does this kind of resection now, not only over a whole career. Recent, regular practice is what you are trying to find out about.
Should I travel to Hyderabad for liver surgery?
For a liver resection, many families from the districts do travel to a team with regular liver experience. Ask whether early check-ups after discharge can happen closer to home. Planning where you will stay during recovery helps the whole family.
Is a second opinion before liver surgery worth it?
Often, yes, especially when you have cirrhosis or a large tumour. A second surgeon may confirm the plan, suggest a safer approach or point to an option such as ablation. It is most useful before the date is fixed.
Does keyhole liver surgery need a more experienced surgeon?
Laparoscopic liver surgery needs its own training and practice, on top of open liver surgery. Ask how often the surgeon does it this way, and when they would switch to an open operation during surgery to keep you safe.
What if my surgeon will not answer these questions?
Ask again, politely, and explain that your family wants to understand the risks. If you still do not get clear answers, that is a good reason to seek another opinion before agreeing to the operation.
How does CION help with choosing liver surgery?
CION surgical oncologists review your scans and reports, and the tumour board discusses whether surgery or another treatment fits your liver. Your team will explain the plan, the risks and where the operation takes place. One helpline serves every CION centre.
Your Specialists
Meet CION's liver cancer specialists. Bring your scan reports and liver blood tests.
Our medical and surgical oncologists plan liver cancer care together, weighing the tumour and how well your liver works before choosing surgery, a liver-directed procedure or medicines.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. C. Raghavendra Reddy
MBBS(Gold Medal), DNB(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Gold Medal)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla
MBBS, MD(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Adyar,Chennai), ECMO, MRCP SCE(UK)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Owais Mohammed
MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DrNB (Medical Oncology), ECMO, MRCP SCE (Medical Oncology) (UK)
Medical Oncologist
Medical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Muralidhar Muddusetty
MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery) (AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh)
Surgical Oncologist
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Sources
- American Cancer Society — Surgery for Liver Cancer
- Cancer Research UK — Surgery for liver cancer
- American Cancer Society — Treatment of Liver Cancer, by Stage
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
Liver resection for cancer: what it involvesWhat the operation actually is, before you choose who does itFuture liver remnantThe measurement that decides whether surgery is safeGetting a second opinion on a liver cancer planHow to ask for one and what to bringWhy hospital volume matters in complex surgeryThe same volume question, explained for another major operation
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Want a surgeon to look at your scans before you decide?
Send us your scans and reports and a CION surgical oncologist will review whether surgery or another treatment fits your liver. One helpline serves every CION centre.