title: The role of hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery in a right hemicolectomy for right-sided colon cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study is to evaluate the perioperative and long-term oncologic outcomes of hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery (HALS) and standard laparoscopic surgery (SLS) and assess the role of HALS in the management of right-sided colon cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study group included 53 patients who underwent HALS and 45 patients who underwent SLS for right-sided colon cancer between April 2002 and December 2008.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients in each group were similar in age, American Society of Anesthesiologist (ASA) score, body mass index, and history of previous abdominal surgeries. Eight patients in the HALS group and no patient in the SLS group exhibited signs of tumor invasion into adjacent structures. No differences were noted in the time to return of normal bowel function, time to toleration of diet, lengths of hospital stay and narcotic usage, and rate of postoperative complications. The median incision length was longer in the HALS group (HALS: 7.0 cm vs. SLS: 4.8 cm, P < 0.001). The HALS group had a significantly higher pathologic TNM stage and significantly larger tumor size (HALS: 6.0 cm vs. SLS: 3.3 cm, P < 0.001). The 5-year overall, disease-free, and cancer-specific survival rates of the HALS and the SLS groups were 87.3%, 75.2%, and 93.9% and 86.4%, 78.0%, and 90.7%, respectively (P = 0.826, P = 0.574, and P = 0.826).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although patients in the HALS group had more advanced disease and underwent more complex procedures than those in the SLS group, the short-term benefits and the oncologic outcomes between the two groups were comparable. HALS can, therefore, be considered an alternative to SLS for bulky and fixed right-sided colon cancer.
authors.affiliation: Division of Colorectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Colorectal Cancer Clinic, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Uk
authors.initials: SU
authors.lastname: Bae
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Eulji University Hospital, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Seok
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Eulji University Hospital, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Young Jin
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Eulji University Hospital, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Min Ku
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Eulji University Hospital, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Byung Sun
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Eulji University Hospital, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Yoon Jung
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Eulji University Hospital, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Joo Seung
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Eulji University Hospital, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Chang Nam
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Kim
keywords: Colonic neoplasms; Hand-assisted laparoscopy; Laparoscopy