Laparoscopic hepatic caudate lobe resection: a report of 7 patients

Abstract

Objective To study the feasibility and safety of laparoscopic hepatic caudate lobe resection. Methods The clinical data of seven patients who underwent laparoscopic hepatic caudate lobe resection in our hospital were retrospective analyzed. There were 3 male and 4 female patients. The mean age was 45.3 years. The primary diseases included hepatic haemangioma (n=2) , metastatic liver cancer (n=2), hepatocellular carcinoma (n=1), recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (n=1) and hepatic adenoma (n=1). The total blood loss, operation time, hospital stay after surgery and complication were analyzed. Results The surgery was successful in all these 7 patients and no patients required any conversion to open surgery. Five patients underwent partial caudate lobe resection, and the remaining 2 underwent combined left hemihepatectomy with partial caudate lobe resection. The operation time ranged from 200 to 250 minutes with a mean of 235 minutes. The intraoperative blood loss ranged from 40 to 600 ml with a mean of 188 ml. There was no postoperative bleeding and bile leakage. The resections were all R0 resections. Conclusions Laparoscopic hepatic caudate lobe resection was safe and feasible in appropriate patients. Familiarity with anatomy of the liver caudate lobe and skilled laparoscopic techniques are important to carry out this surgery. Key words: Liver neoplasms; Liver caudate lobe; Hepatectomy; Laparoscope