Aim of study: For the tumor lesions close to capsule of the liver, traditional percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (PRFA) is limited due to high incidence of postoperative complications. The aim of the present study is to whether laparoscopic combined with PRFA (LCPR) could effectively ablate the tumor lesions close to capsule of the liver.
Methods: A total of 119 patients with subcapsular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were divided into two groups: PRFA group (89 patients) and LCPR group (30 patients). RFA was accomplished through cool-tip RFA system. For LCPR, PRFA was first carried out to destroy tumors deep inside the liver tissue. Then, laparoscopic RFA was performed under the guide of laparoscopic view and destroyed the superficial part of the tumor. Postoperative morbidity and technique effectiveness between two groups were evaluated.
Results: In PRFA group, the rate of fever was 70.8% (63/89), and two patients had gallbladder damage. Five patients had ascites. Pain was found in 26 patients (29.2%). In LCPR group, the rate of fever was 22/30 (73.3%). Two patients had ascites and only two patients complained of pain. In PRFA group, 77.5% (69/89) of the tumors were totally ablated, and in LCPR, 93.3% (28/30) of the tumors were destroyed without any residuals.
Conclusion: LCPR could significantly reduce the incidence of postoperative pain and the rate of regional tumor residuals compared to the PRFA, suggesting this method could potentially be useful for subcapsular HCC ablation treatment.