Status of endoscopic liver surgery in Japan: a questionnaire survey conducted by the Japanese Endoscopic Liver Surgery Study Group.
OBJECTIVE
In 2007, the First Annual Meeting of the Japanese Endoscopic Liver Surgery Study Group was convened. We report the results of a questionnaire survey conducted by this study group that attempted to assess the current status and safety of endoscopic liver surgery.


METHODS
A questionnaire survey was conducted at 26 hospitals to determine the operative procedures, rates of conversion to open surgery, and morbidity rates in patients who had undergone laparoscopic hepatectomy and endoscopic ablation therapy.


RESULTS
Laparoscopic hepatectomy was performed in 471 patients by means of nonanatomical partial resection (57.7%), left lateral sectionectomy (24.6%), hemihepatectomy (12.5%), sectionectomy other than lateral sectionectomy (2.5%), and segmentectomy (2.5%). Hepatectomy was performed by a totally laparoscopic procedure in 47% of the patients and by a hybrid procedure in 53%. The rate of complications was 12.3%; there was no case of serious liver failure or operative mortality. Endoscopic ablation therapy was performed in 169 patients through a thoracoscopic (25.4%) or laparoscopic approach (74.6%), using radiowaves (55.6%), microwaves (40.2%), cryotherapy (1.8%), or ethanol (0.6%). The incidence of complications was 6.6%.


CONCLUSIONS
In properly selected patients, laparoscopic hepatectomy and endoscopic ablation therapy are safe treatments for liver tumors.
Tsuchiya
Masaru
M
Division of General and Gastroenterological Surgery, Department of Surgery (Omori), Toho University School of Medicine, 6-11-1 Omori-nishi, Ota-ku, Tokyo, 143-8541, Japan.
Otsuka
Yuichiro
Y
Tamura
Akira
A
Nitta
Hiroyuki
H
Sasaki
Akira
A
Wakabayashi
Go
G
Kaneko
Hironori
H
D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D016145:Endoscopy, Digestive System / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006498:Hepatectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires