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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. May 28, 2017; 23(20): 3581-3588
Published online May 28, 2017. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i20.3581
First quarter century of laparoscopic liver resection
Zenichi Morise, Go Wakabayashi
Zenichi Morise, Department of Surgery, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Toyoake, Aichi 470-1192, Japan
Go Wakabayashi, Department of Surgery, Center for Advanced Treatment of HBP Diseases, Ageo Central General Hospital, Ageo, 362-8588 Saitama, Japan
Author contributions: Morise Z and Wakabayashi G cooperated to collect the data and write this paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Morise Z and Wakabayashi G declare no conflicts of interest related to this publication.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Zenichi Morise, MD, PhD, FACS, AGAF, Department of Surgery, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, 1-98 Kutsukakecho, Toyoake, Aichi 470-1192, Japan. zmorise@fujita-hu.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-562-939246 Fax: +81-562-935125
Received: January 25, 2017
Peer-review started: February 1, 2017
First decision: February 27, 2017
Revised: March 4, 2017
Accepted: April 21, 2017
Article in press: April 21, 2017
Published online: May 28, 2017
Abstract

The beginnings of laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) were at the start of the 1990s, with the initial reports being published in 1991 and 1992. These were followed by reports of left lateral sectionectomy in 1996. In the years following, the procedures of LLR were expanded to hemi-hepatectomy, sectionectomy, segmentectomy and partial resection of posterosuperior segments, as well as the parenchymal preserving limited anatomical resection and modified anatomical (extended and/or combining limited) resection procedures. This expanded range of LLR procedures, mimicking the expansion of open liver resection in the past, was related to advances in both technology (instrumentation) and technical skill with conceptual changes. During this period of remarkable development, two international consensus conferences were held (2008 in Louisville, KY, United States, and 2014 in Morioka, Japan), providing up-to-date summarizations of the status and perspective of LLR. The advantages of LLR have become clear, and include reduced intraoperative bleeding, shorter hospital stay, and - especially for cirrhotic patients-lower incidence of complications (e.g., postoperative ascites and liver failure). In this paper, we review and discuss the developments of LLR in operative procedures (extent and style of liver resections) during the first quarter century since its inception, from the aspect of relationships with technological/technical developments with conceptual changes.

Keywords: Hepatectomy, Laparoscopic surgery, Liver cancer, History, Technology, Technique, Concept, Approach, Posture, Simulation

Core tip: Laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) was introduced in early 1990s. Thereafter, LLR procedures have expanded to left lateral sectionectomy, hemi-hepatectomy, sectionectomy, segmentectomy and partial resection of posterosuperior segments, as well as parenchymal preserving limited and modified anatomical resection. This expansion is related to technological/technical developments with conceptual changes. During this period, two international consensus conferences summarized the up-to-date status and perspective of LLR. The current advantages of LLR include reduced intraoperative bleeding, shorter hospital stay, and lower incidence of complications. Here, we review and discuss the developments of LLR in operative procedures during the first quarter century since its inception.