TP6.2.6 A meta-analysis and systematic review of Laparoscopic versus open hepatectomy for malignant liver tumours in the elderly patients

Aims To evaluate comparative outcomes of laparoscopic versus open hepatectomy for malignant liver tumours in elderly patients. Methods A systematic online search was conducted using the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane database, The Virtual Health Library, Clinical trials.gov and Science Direct. Comparative studies comparing laparoscopic (LH) versus open hepatectomy (OH) for both primary and metastatic malignant liver tumours in the elderly were included. Total operative time (minutes), need to perform Pringle’s manoeuvre, blood loss (ml), requirement for blood transfusion intra-operatively/post-operatively, post-operative complications, R0 resection rate, specimen resection margin (mm), re-operation rate, length of hospital stay (LOS), and 90-day mortality were the evaluated outcome parameters. Results Twelve studies reporting a total number of 1762 patients who underwent laparoscopic (n = 831) or open (n = 931) hepatectomy were included. OH group was associated with a significantly higher number of post-operative complications compared to LH (P = 0.00001). Complications such as post-operative liver failure (P = 0.02), ascites formation (P = 0.002), surgical site infection (P = 0.02), blood loss (P = 0.03), blood transfusion rate (P = 0.05) and LOS (P = 0.00001) were significantly higher in the OH group when compared to LH. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of total operative time (P = 0.53), bile leak (P = 0.12), R0 resection rate (P = 0.36), re-operation (P = 0.70) and 90-day mortality (P = 0.11). Conclusion Laparoscopic liver resections are safe with at least equal or superior peri-operative outcomes in the elderly population. Importantly, oncological outcomes are also comparable with open surgery. This approach needs to be utilised wherever possible to provide optimal healthcare in an aging population.