Surgical outcomes and quality of life between laparoscopic and open approach for hepatic hemangioma: A propensity score matching analysis

The main objective of the study was to compare the surgical outcomes and quality of life (QOL) of patients with hepatic hemangioma either by laparoscopic or open surgery using a propensity score analysis. We retrospectively reviewed patients with hepatic hemangioma undergoing laparoscopic liver surgery (LLS) or open liver surgery (OLS) between January 2016 and December 2017. Intraoperative and postoperative characteristics, and quality of life, according to Short Form-36 Healthy Survey (SF-36) questionnaire, were compared between groups. We performed 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) between the LLS and OLS groups. A total of 205 patients who involved in the analysis (80 LLS vs 125 OLS) were matched (1:1) by age, gender, body mass index (BMI), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, previous upper abdominal surgery, comorbidities, operation method, type of resection, tumor localization, size, and number. After PSM, 73 well-matched patients in each group were obtained. LLS was associated with significantly less blood loss, shorter postoperative hospital stay and fewer complications. The QOL scores weren’t significantly different between the 2 groups, though the LLS group tended to be superior to the OLS group in terms of bodily pain (BP) and mental health (MH) at 3 months after surgery. In comparison with the conventional open approach, laparoscopic liver surgery for hepatic hemangioma appears to have improved short-term surgical outcomes and comparable QOL in selected patients.