Outcomes of pure laparoscopic Glissonian pedicle approach hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma: a propensity score matching analysis.

Background: Few studies had been performed to concern the outcomes of pure laparoscopic Glissonian pedicle approach hepatectomy (LGAH) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of LGAH versus open Glissonian pedicle approach hepatectomy (OGAH) for HCC, especially in patients with cirrhosis.
Methods: Hepatocellular carcinoma patients who underwent pure LGAH and OGAH between January 2015 and July 2017 in our institution were retrospectively enrolled in this study. Propensity score matching (PSM) of patients in a ratio of 1:1 was conducted to adjust the known confounders. The perioperative and oncological outcomes were compared between the two groups after PSM.
Results: Some 80 patients underwent pure LGAH and 134 had OGAH. After PSM, 67 patients in each group were well matched for analysis. Both the postoperative overall complication rates (13.4% vs. 29.9%, P = 0.021) and mean comprehensive complication index (2.63 vs. 7.40, P = 0.035) were significantly lower in the LGAH group than those in OGAH group. Although the operative time was longer in the LRH group (P < 0.001), the length of postoperative hospital stay was shorter in the LRH group (P = 0.024). Furthermore, both the 3-year overall survival rate (73.3% for LGAH vs. 77.8% for OGAH, P = 0.338) and 3-year disease-free survival rate (56.4% for LGAH vs. 62.5% for OGAH, P = 0.455) were not significantly different between the groups.
Conclusion: Pure laparoscopic Glissonian approach may be a better alternative to open Glissonian approach in selected HCC patients, which provided fewer complications, shorter postoperative hospital stay and comparable oncological outcomes.