HCC usually arises after cirrhosis, with an annual incidence of 1.7% in cirrhotic HCV-infected individuals. Surgery on diseased or cirrhotic livers is generally associated with higher morbidity and mortality. One study found at autopsy significant thickening of pulmonary arteries in cirrhotic patients. Lack of perinuclear collagen tissue distinguishes NRH from typical regenerative nodules in the cirrhotic liver. In 1956 cirrhotic patients were found to have low serum zinc levels. They develop fatty livers&colon; it is presumed that if they survive, cirrhotic change may develop. Macroscopically, the cirrhotic liver can have a black color due to protoporphyrin deposits. They also accommodated Pasolini's ailing, cirrhotic father Carlo Alberto, who died in 1958. Cirrhotic patients altered baseline liver function tests (Childs B & C).