Communicating with the hepatobiliary surgeon through structured report

Abstract

Communicating radiological findings to hepatobiliary surgeons is not an easy task due to the complexity of liver imaging, coexistence of multiple hepatic lesions and different surgical treatment options. Recently, the adoption and implementation of structured report in everyday clinical practice has been supported to achieve higher quality, more reproducibility in communication and closer adherence to current guidelines. In this review article, we will illustrate the main benefits, strengths and limitations of structured reporting, with particular attention on the advantages and challenges of structured template in the preoperative evaluation of cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic patients with focal liver lesions. Structured reporting may improve the preoperative evaluation, focusing on answering specific clinical questions that are requested by hepatobiliary surgeons in candidates to liver resection.