What is the most important preoperative lab value to assess for liver surgery?

In the context of preoperative assessment for liver surgery, the Child-Pugh score is critically important because it assesses the severity of liver disease and its impact on surgical outcomes. This score evaluates three clinical parameters: the levels of bilirubin and albumin, the presence of ascites, and the degree of encephalopathy. By using this scoring system, surgeons can estimate liver function and the patient's ability to tolerate surgery, which can significantly influence decisions regarding the timing and type of surgical intervention.

The Child-Pugh score is especially relevant in determining the risks associated with liver resection or transplantation, as it helps predict complications, morbidity, and mortality. This makes it a vital score for calculating whether a patient is a suitable candidate for surgery.

While other lab values like INR and liver function tests do provide important information about coagulation status and liver function respectively, they do not comprehensively reflect the overall hepatic reserve as effectively as the Child-Pugh score. The complete metabolic panel, while useful for assessing a wide range of metabolic and electrolyte balances, is not specifically tailored to evaluate liver function or the severity of liver disease in the same focused manner. Thus, for liver surgery, the Child-Pugh score stands out as the most crucial preoperative measure.