A patient with liver cancer is at the clinic to talk with the physician. The physician tells the patient that it is to risky to do surgery on their hepatic tumor. The patient asks the nurse why surgery is so risky for them

Question

The nurse explains that while surgical resection of the liver tumor is possible in some patients, the risks associated with this procedure increase when the patient has a history of what?
A) Oral contraceptive use
B) Cirrhosis
C) Hypertension
D) Prior abdominal surgery

Answer 1

Ans: B
Feedback: Although surgical resection of the liver tumor is possible in some patients, the underlying cirrhosis is so prevalent in cancer of the liver that it increases the risks associated with surgery. Oral contraceptive use is associated with benign liver tumors not malignant tumors. Prior abdominal surgery may have resulted in abdominal scar tissue formation, but poses minor if any risk to the patient. Hypertension can be controlled by use of anti-hypertensive drugs and again, poses a minor risk to the patient.