Since 1980 120 patients with hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer underwent surgery at the Istituto Nazionale Tumori of Milan. Of these, 34 developed recurrence in the liver only and 11 underwent repeat surgery. The median interval between the two resections was 10 months and operative morbidity and mortality rates were 40 per cent and 9 per cent respectively. Nine patients with adequate follow-up were evaluated and after a median follow-up of 17 months four were alive and disease-free, two were alive with lung metastases and hepatic relapse and three had died. The overall median survival of these patients was 23 months.