Laparoscopic-assisted hepatectomy (LAH) for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

The treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma associated with liver cirrhosis necessitates local therapy in some patients because of severe hepatic dysfunction. Percutaneous ethanol injection therapy, the local therapy for such cancer of the liver, and percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy are detailed. The significant disadvantages of these procedures is their inability to evaluate precisely whether the tumor will develop complete necrosis after treatment because the cancer tissue cannot be excised with use of these procedures. Conversely, laparoscopic hepatectomy, which is minimally invasive surgery, has a disadvantage, that is, its difficulty in complex maneuvers, including hemostasis, ligation, and suture. The authors developed laparoscopic-assisted hepatectomy, which is hepatectomy by small incision during laparotomy with the use of laparoscopic observation. This report describes laparoscopic-assisted hepatectomy, which may allow the solving of problems with percutaneous ethanol injection therapy, percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy, and laparoscopic hepatectomy.