Single incision laparoscopic hepatectomy: A systematic review

Single incision laparoscopic surgery is a rather innovative surgical technique. A systematic literature review was performed with the intention to evaluate the till now clinical evidence regarding the application of single incision technique on liver resections as a method of management in hepatic lesions. Twelve relative studies were found in the field including 30 patients with a age range from 29 to 90 years and a body mass index from 20.1 to 36.5 kg/m(2). Primary hepatic carcinoma (40%), metastatic nodules (26.7%), hepatic cysts (16.7%), hepatic haemangiomas (13.3%) and hepatic adenoma (3.3%) were the most common indications of the lesions resected. The types of hepatectomy performed included partial hepatectomy (43.3%), segmentectomy (30%) and lobectomy (26.7%). In the majority of the patients, left lateral segments (II-III-IV) (76.7%) were resected. The median operative time was 110 min (range: 55-235) while the median quantity of blood loss was 50 ml (range: 0-100). No conversion to open surgery and no transfusion were needed. The duration of hospital stay ranged between 2 and 11 days. No complications, no cases of disease recurrence or death of patients were reported. None of the studies included described data on the cosmesis of the application of single incision laparoscopic technique on hepatic resections. Moreover, the surgical technique, as well as the different type of ports used is also presented in this review. Single site port laparoscopic surgery is a promising minimally invasive procedure for liver resections.