Short-term outcomes of minimally invasive surgery for patients presenting with suspected gallbladder cancer: Report of 8 cases

INTRODUCTION: Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for gallbladder cancer (GBCa) has traditionally been discouraged, with limited studies reporting on its outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term outcomes of MIS for patients with GBCa or suspected GBCa. METHODS: A retrospective study of 8 consecutive patients who underwent MIS for GBCa by a single surgeon over a 22-month period between 2015 and 2017. RESULTS: Three patients underwent robotic surgery, while five underwent conventional laparoscopic surgery. Four patients presented with histologically proven GbCa detected incidentally after cholecystectomy. All 4 patients underwent resection of Segment 4b/5. Of these, 3 underwent hilar lymphadenectomy and 1 underwent hilar lymph node sampling. Four patients presenting with suspected GBCa underwent upfront extended cholecystectomy. Two patients who had malignancy on frozen section underwent hilar lymphadenectomy. The median operation time was 242.5 (range, 165–530) min, and the median blood loss was 175 (range, 50–700) ml. The median post-operative hospital stay was 3.5 (range, 2–8) days. There were no open conversion, post-operative morbidities and mortalities. Six had histologically proven GBCa. Five were T3 and one had T2 cancers. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study confirm the short-term safety and feasibility of MIS for patients with GBCa, as all eight patients underwent successful MIS with no major morbidity or mortality. Further studies with larger patient cohorts with long-term follow-up are needed to determine the oncologic outcomes and the definitive role of MIS in treating GBCa.