Efficacy and safety of laparoscopic liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma in segment 8: a propensity score-matched two-center study.

Abstract

The safety and efficacy of laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) have been reported worldwide. However, those of LLR for tumors located in Couinaud's segment 8 are not sufficiently investigated. We retrospectively analyzed 108 patients who underwent liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in segment 8 at Kobe University Hospital and Hyogo Cancer Center between January 2010 and December 2021. The patients were categorized in LLR and open liver resection (OLR) groups, and 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to compare surgical outcomes between the groups. Forty-seven and 61 patients underwent LLR and OLR, respectively. After PSM, each group contained 34 patients. There was no significant difference in operation time between the groups (331min vs. 330min, P = 0.844). Patients in the LLR group had significantly less blood loss (30mL vs. 468mL, P < 0.001) and shorter length of postoperative hospital stay (10days vs. 12days, P = 0.015) than those in the OLR group. There was no significant difference in the occurrence of postoperative complications between the groups (12% vs. 9%, P = 0.690). Further, the 1-year cumulative incidence of recurrence was not significantly different between the groups (16% vs. 19%, P = 0.734). The surgical outcomes and short-term prognosis of LLR were similar or better than those of OLR. LLR could be an effective and safe procedure, even for lesions located in segment 8, which is considered a difficult anatomical location for LLR.