title: Short-term and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic hepatectomy, microwave ablation, and open hepatectomy for small hepatocellular carcinoma: a 5-year experience in a single center.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Laparoscopic hepatectomy (LH), microwave ablation (MWA), and open hepatectomy (OH) are three widely used methods to treat small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, few studies have compared the short- and long-term outcomes of these three treatments. The aim of this study was to investigate their effectiveness.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data were reviewed from 280 patients with HCCs measuring ≤3 cm (Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage 0 or A) who received LH (n = 133), OH (n = 87), or MWA (n = 60) in our research center from 2005 to 2010. Short-term outcomes included intraoperative blood loss, operation time, and length of hospital stay. The disease-free survival and overall survival rates were analyzed as long-term outcomes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients in the MWA and LH groups showed better short-term outcomes compared with those in the OH group. There were no significant differences in overall survival rates among the three treatments. The LH group showed significantly lower recurrence rates than the MWA group (P = 0.0146).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Laparoscopic hepatectomy may be a better option for patients with small HCC located on the liver surface and left lateral lobe. The short-term outcome of MWA is promising, although the high risk of local recurrence after the operation should be considered when planning treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Sun Yat-sen memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Wenda
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Sun Yat-sen memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Zejian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Intensive Care Unit, The Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Kelin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Sun Yat-sen memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Sun Yat-sen memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jinyi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Sun Yat-sen memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yajin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
keywords: laparoscopic hepatectomy; microwave ablation; short-term outcomes; small hepatocellular carcinoma; survival analysis