Laparoscopic minor liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract Background Previous studies have suggested that laparoscopic liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma is associated with lower postoperative complications compared with open liver resection. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of 109 hepatocellular carcinoma patients who underwent minor liver resection at a Japanese tertiary care hospital from November 2010 to December 2022. Results The laparoscopic liver resection group experienced significantly lower median intraoperative blood loss compared with the open liver resection group (P = 0.0001). Furthermore, the laparoscopic liver resection group had a significantly shorter median hospital stay compared with the open liver resection group (P = 0.0002). However, there was no significant difference in median postoperative survival between the laparoscopic liver resection group and the open liver resection group (P = 0.717). Conclusions Laparoscopic minor liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma resulted in reduced blood loss and hospital stay without compromising long-term survival outcomes.