[Laparoscopy and laparoscopic echography in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma]

The role of laparoscopy and laparoscopic echography (LSEG) in the early diagnosis and staging of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are discussed in the light of the diagnostic methods in current use. The study covers 62 patients of which thirteen are subjected to LSEG using rigid 7.5 MHz echo-laparoscopic probe. In 87.1 per cent of the cases HCC develops against the background of cirrhosis. Adenomatous hyperplasia is established in 21 of 54 patients presenting HCC, pointing to the stage character of cancerogenesis, and demonstrating the LSEG potentialities in diagnosing precancer, multicentric HCC, intrahepatic metastases from HCC and vascular tumor invasion. The superiorities of echo-laparoscopic biopsy and LSEG contribution to the early diagnosis of HCC, staging according to ther TNM system, and reliable demonstration of cirrhosis, its severity and prognosis, are underscored.