Background: Laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) may improve outcomes for cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and portal hypertension (PHT). The aim of this study was to compare the short-term outcomes after LLR for HCC in cirrhotic patients with and without PHT.
Methods: This multicentric study included 96 HCC patients who underwent LLR. Clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) was defined by a hepatic venous pressure gradient ≥10 mmHg. Short-term outcomes and liver-specific complications including post-hepatectomy liver failure (PHLF), ascites and encephalopathy were compared between patients with and without CSPH.
Results: Thirty-one patients (32%) had CSPH. The CSPH group had higher post-operative morbidity (52% vs. 15%; p < 0.001), PHLF (10% vs. 0%; p = 0.03) and encephalopathy (10% vs. 0%; p = 0.03). There was no difference in terms of post-operative ascites between the two groups (CSPH: 16% vs. no CPSH: 8%, p = 0.28). The length of stay was longer in patients with CSPH than in those without CSPH (6 vs. 4 days; p < 0.001).
Conclusions: The laparoscopic approach is feasible in selected HCC patients with CSPH, at the price of significant increases in liver-specific complications and length of stay.