Laparoscopic or open liver resection? Let systematic review decide it.

Background: Laparoscopic liver resection is increasingly being used for the excision of benign and malignant hepatic lesions. The aim of this study was to perform meta-analysis on the compiled data from available observational studies.

Methods: All the studies comparing laparoscopic versus open liver resections were searched on the available databases. Data were analyzed using Review Manager software version 5.0 (The Cochrane Collaboration, Software Update, Oxford, UK).

Results: There was a total of 2,466 patients: 1,161 (47.1%) in the laparoscopic group and 1,305 (52.9%) in the open group. The laparoscopic group was associated with a reduced overall complication rate (odds ratio = .35; 95% confidence interval [CI], .28-.45; P < .001; heterogeneity (HG): P = .51), fewer positive resection margins for malignant tumor resections (odds ratio = .38; CI, .20-.76; P = .006; HG: P = .52) and a decrease in the number of patients requiring blood transfusion (odds ratio = .36; CI, .23-.74; P < .001; HG: P = .30).

Conclusions: Laparoscopic liver resection showed a reduced overall morbidity rate and favorable and comparable outcomes when compared with the open group. However, there is still a need for randomized controlled trials to compare laparoscopic versus open hepatic resection in benign and malignant lesions.