Laparoscopic hepatectomy reduces postoperative complications and hospital stay in overweight and obese patients

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic liver surgery is currently considered the standard of care for various liver malignancies. However, studies focusing on perioperative outcome after laparoscopic hepatectomy (LH) in overweight patients are still sparse and its benefit compared to open hepatectomy (OH) is a matter of debate. AIM: To analyze postoperative outcomes in overweight [body mass index (BMI) over 25 kg/m²] and obese (BMI over 30 kg/m²) patients undergoing LH and compare postoperative outcome with patients undergoing OH. METHODS: = 27) who underwent LH at our institution between 2015 and 2019 were retrospectively analyzed regarding surgical outcome and compared to an equal number of patients undergoing OH. CONCLUSION: LH is safe and cost-effective in overweight and obese patients. Furthermore, LH is significantly associated with fewer postoperative complications and reduced hospital stay compared to OH in these patients.