Laparoscopic hepatectomy in a morbidly obese patient with liver cirrhosis: A case report

Cirrhotic patients constitute a high-risk population, and present a major challenge for the performance of minimally invasive laparoscopic resections due to difficulties in parenchymal transection. The present study describes the case of a 71-year-old morbidly obese male patient who was referred to our department with a hepatic mass identified on routine abdominal ultrasound. Abdominal computer tomography and magnetic resonance imaging confirmed a mass in segments V-VI of the liver, highly suspicious for HCC. The patient's past medical history additionally included non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, diabetes mellitus and arterial hypertension and myocardial infarction. The patient's body mass index was 45 kg/m², and the American Society of Anesthesiologists' classification of preoperative risk was 3. The patient underwent laparoscopic resection of segments V-VI and cholecystectomy. Two years postoperatively, the patient remains disease-free and in excellent condition. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on laparoscopic liver resection for such a morbidly obese patient in the context of advanced liver cirrhosis.