Pure laparoscopic subsegmentectomy of the liver using a puncture method for the target portal branch under percutaneous ultrasound with artificial ascites.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: It is important to minimize surgical invasiveness in the therapy of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and, consequently, laparoscopic hepatic resection is widely performed. However, most anatomic resections, except left lateral sectionectomy, are still difficult technically and, as an alternative approach, laparoscopy-assisted procedures also have been introduced because of the safety and curative success of the operation. Herein, we describe pure laparoscopic subsegmentectomy of the liver using puncture of the portal branch under percutaneous ultrasound (US) with artificial ascites. METHODS: Pure laparoscopic subsegmentectomy of segment 6 (S6) was planned for a patient with HCC of S6 of the liver. The identification of the segment was performed by dye injection under percutaneous US guidance with artificial ascites. RESULTS: The procedure was completed successfully in a minimally invasive manner with an operative time of 260 minutes and with intraoperative blood loss of 10 mL. The difference between the size of the resected specimen and that estimated by 3-dimensional computed tomography was very small. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient was discharged 10 days after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Pure laparoscopic subsegmentectomy for HCC with a conventional puncture technique under percutaneous US with artificial ascites is considered to be a useful procedure featuring both low invasiveness and curative success.