Outcome of Laparoscopic Liver Resection for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Although laparoscopic liver resection has become popular and it has shown good surgical safety and feasibility, the oncologic safety is still not established. Therefore, we analyzed the mid-term survival and disease free survival rates after laparoscopic liver resection for HCC to establish the oncologic safety. METHODS: Between September 2003 and August 2008, 64 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma underwent laparoscopic liver resection. The clinical data of these patients was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: There were 19 major hepatic resections and 45 minor hepatic resections without any mortality. There were 15 complications, including 9 cases of abdominal fluid collection, 3 cases of bile leakage, 2 cases of ascites and 1 case of ileus. The 3 years overall survival and disease free survival rates were 87.8% and 67.3%, respectively. CONCLUSION: We confirmed that laparoscopic liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma is safe and feasible. The 3 years survival rates and disease free survival rates were as high as those of open resection for hepatocellular carcinoma.