title: Limited hepatic resection by laparoscopy-assisted mini-laparotomy for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotic patients.
abstract: Surgical resection is standard treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma but is often not possible in the presence of cirrhosis or poor liver function. We present a method of performing limited hepatectomy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis. We call this method laparoscopy-assisted mini-laparotomy (LAML). The site of the tumor is localized by ultrasound through a laparoscope, and a small skin incision is made over that site to facilitate removal of the portion of liver containing the tumor. Eleven patients underwent limited hepatic resection by LAML. The tumors were on the margin of the liver. There was no hospital mortality or serious complications. The average length of hospital stay was 6.4 days. LAML can be safely performed for hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotic patients. It decreases operating time, length of hospital stay, and blood loss.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yao-Li
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Alan Ronald
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Talbot
authors.forename: Hung-Chi
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Shou-Tung
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Shou-Jen
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.forename: Hsin-Yuan
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Fang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016063:Blood Loss, Surgical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006498:Hepatectomy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D007813:Laparotomy / Q000379:methods*; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional