Extra-Glissonian Approach for Laparoscopic Liver Right Anterior Sectionectomy

BACKGROUND: Open right anterior sectionectomy, which involves resection of liver segments 5 and 8, has been reported to have similar postoperative mortality rates as right hepatectomy, but it has a decreased risk in developing posthepatectomy liver failure. Totally laparoscopic right anterior sectionectomy is technically demanding and has rarely been reported in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with cirrhosis. METHODS: Our experience in carrying out totally laparoscopic right anterior sectionectomy on four consecutive HCC patients with cirrhosis from November 2016 to August 2017 using the extraglissonian approach formed the basis of this report. RESULTS: All four patients had hepatitis B–related HCC. The mean operation time was 502 ± 55 minutes. All patients underwent intermittent Pringle's Maneuver with cycles of clamp/unclamp times of 15/5 minutes for the left-sided liver transection plane, and intermittent right hemihepatic vascular inflow occlusion with cycles of clamp/unclamp times of 30/5 minutes for the right-sided liver transection plane. The mean Pringle's Maneuver time was 58.8 ± 11.4 minutes and the mean right hemihepatic vascular inflow occlusion time was 66.3 ± 11.1 minutes. The mean intraoperative blood loss was 512 ± 301 mL. No patients required any blood transfusion. There was no conversion to open surgery. Postoperative complications included intra-abdominal bleeding requiring reoperation for hemostasis (n = 1), intra-abdominal collection requiring percutaneous drainage (n = 1), and right pleural effusion requiring percutaneous drainage (n = 1). There was no 90-day postoperative mortality. The mean hospital stay was 10.7 ± 2.9 days. After a median follow-up of 10 (range, 6–16) months, one patient developed HCC recurrence in the liver remnant. CONCLUSION: Totally laparoscopic right anterior sectionectomy using the extraglissonian approach was technically feasible and safe in expert hands. More data are needed to assess the long-term oncological survival outcomes.