Introduction
Hepatocellular carcinoma and colorectal liver metastasis frequently recur after hepatectomy, but repeat hepatectomy (RH) is aggressively performed because a relatively good prognosis can be expected with RH [
1‐
4]. The first case of laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) was reported in 1991 by Reich et al. [
5] With the advancement of laparoscopic techniques and equipment, the rate of LLR has been rapidly increasing worldwide [
6].
LLR is still considered a highly difficult procedure, and there are several difficulty scoring systems that classify its levels of difficulty [
7‐
9]. Surgeons are required to select LLR according to the difficulty level of LLR and their surgical skills. Pure LLRs are sometimes difficult to complete, and there are cases in which unplanned intraoperative conversion to hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery (HALS) or open hepatectomy are necessary [
10].
Recently, the number of cases of LLR has been increasing even for RH, and the efficacy of laparoscopic RH (LRH) has been reported [
11‐
15]. However, RH is more difficult than the initial hepatectomy due to adhesions, deformity of the liver, and displacement of the vessels. The indications for LRH are not clear, and the choice of open or laparoscopic is made at the discretion of each institution and surgeon. It is still unclear which cases are appropriate for LRH.
The aim of this study was to retrospectively investigate the characteristics of open and LRH cases in our department and to clarify the appropriate indications for LRH.
Discussion
In this study, we retrospectively reviewed cases of ORH and LRH performed in our department to determine which cases were appropriate for LRH. Comparing the ORH group to the LRH group, open and more than lobectomy (Hr2-3) were more frequently performed as the previous hepatectomy, and more than sectionectomy (Hr1-2) was more frequently performed for RH. RH requiring a repeat hepatic hilar approach was more frequently performed in the ORH group. In the LRH group, however, laparoscopic and partial hepatectomy (Hr0) were more frequently performed as the previous hepatectomy, and partial hepatectomy (Hr0) was more frequently performed for RH. The number of S1 cases was higher in the ORH group, and that of S2-6 cases was higher in the LRH group. When we compared the complete pure LRH group to the HALS/open conversion group to examine the risk factors for unplanned intraoperative HALS/open conversion, the HALS/open conversion group had a significantly greater extent of previous hepatectomy with more than lobectomy (Hr2-3), more RH with segmentectomy (HrS), and more RH requiring a repeat hepatic hilar approach. In particular, all cases of RH requiring a repeat hepatic hilar approach ended up as HALS conversions.
RH is more difficult than the initial hepatectomy due to adhesions, deformity of the liver, and displacement of the vascular vessels. The degree of adhesions present during RH has been reported to be related to the difficulty of the surgery and to correlate with postoperative complications [
19,
20]. Some reports comparing LRH with ORH have shown the benefit of LRH [
12,
13,
21]. In particular, LRH has been reported to reduce blood loss, with the same incidence of postoperative complications and a shorter postoperative hospital stay compared to those of ORH [
13,
21]. However, there are few reports describing the cases that are suitable for LRH. Kinoshita et al. examined the difficulty classification of LRH [
11,
22]. They reported five preoperative predictive factors for difficult LRH as follows: a history of previous open liver resection, that of two or more previous liver resections, that of a previous major liver resection (not less than sectionectomy), tumor near the resected site of the previous liver resection, and intermediate or high difficulty as indicated by the difficulty scoring system [
7]. When 0 to 3 of these factors were present, the patient was in the low or intermediate difficulty class and the indication for LRH was considered to be good. In contrast, when 4 or 5 of these factors were present, the patient was in the high difficulty class and could not be recommended for LRH. Our study is more practical, as it refers to specific operative procedures, and is novel in that we refer to the risk factors for HALS/open conversion and the cases in which planned HALS or ORH may be a better approach than pure LRH.
In our study, cases with tumor locations of S2-6 were more common in the LRH group. For tumors in these location, the difficulty level is relatively low, suggesting a good indication for laparoscopic hepatic resection, and even for LRH [
7,
9]. If the previous hepatectomy was an open hepatectomy, the operative time could be prolonged. Cioffi et al. reported that when the initial hepatectomy was an open hepatectomy, compared to laparoscopic hepatectomy, postoperative adhesions at the time of RH were severe and the operative time was longer [
23]. In the present study, we considered HALS/open conversion cases to be difficult for LRH, and we compared each factor between the HALS/open conversion group and pure the LRH group to investigate the factors causing difficult LRH. The relationship between previous hepatectomy and RH was reviewed in terms of the same or opposite lobe and adjacent or nonadjacent section. Although there were no significant differences, 5 of the 6 patients in the HALS/open conversion group had the procedure on the same lobe, and all 6 had adjacent section relationships. We believed this result was reasonable as it also matches the risk factors of previous reports [
11,
22]. However, in our study, the number of same lobe cases was higher in the LRH group than in the ORH group, suggesting that LRH is not necessarily inappropriate and that partial hepatectomy (Hr0) would be sufficient. In cases in which the previous hepatectomy was more than lobectomy (Hr2), or in which the RH was more than segmentectomy (HrS), the surgery should be performed with consideration of the possibility of performing intraoperative HALS/open conversion. In particular, in the two patients in whom the previous hepatectomy required a hepatic hilar approach and RH was more than segmentectomy (HrS) requiring a repeat hepatic hilar approach, both patients ended up undergoing HALS conversion, although ORH was more frequently selected for these cases. After hepatectomy with a hepatic hilar approach, adhesions develop in the hepatic hilum, and deformity of the hepatic hilum and displacement of the vessels occur as a result of liver regeneration. The RH requiring a repeat hilar approach becomes more difficult as a result of both of these factors. These cases may correspond to the intermediate class reported by Kinoshita et al. [
11,
22]; clinically, however, they are very difficult and should be considered as cases with high-level difficulty. Therefore, we believe that cases requiring a repeat hilar approach for more than segmentectomy (HrS) should be considered for planned HALS or ORH rather than pure LRH at this time.
The present study has several limitations. First, this is a single-center study with a small number of cases. Second, the operator was different in each case although the surgical team included expert surgeons who were board-certified. Third, the stratified factors used in the present study were those generally considered to influence hepatectomy, and not all factors were considered. Fourth, long-term prognoses were not comparable because of the variety of diseases included in this study.
In conclusion, appropriate indications for LRH were as follows: the previous hepatectomy was a laparoscopic partial hepatectomy (Hr0), and the RH procedure was partial hepatectomy (Hr0) for a tumor located at S2-6. In cases in which the previous hepatectomy was more than lobectomy (Hr2), or when the RH procedure was more than segmentectomy (HrS), the surgery should be performed with consideration of the possibility of performing intraoperative HALS/open conversion. Finally, in cases in which the previous hepatectomy required a hepatic hilar approach and RH was more than segmentectomy (HrS) requiring a repeat hepatic hilar approach, planned HALS or ORH may be a better approach than pure LRH.
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