Introduction : Laparoscopic liver resection(LLR) tends to be preferred by young patients because of its cosmetic effect. The aim of this study was to compare the results of laparoscopic liver resection and open liver resection(OLR) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic liver resection in patients over 70 years of age.

Methods : All consecutive cases of LLR between November 2007 and May 2017 and 1:1 case matched OLR during same period were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study. All surgical procedures were performed by one surgeon(KH Kim). The LLR and OLR groups were compared in terms of demographics, clinical perioperative outcomes.

Results : A total of 61 cases of LLR were performed in patients over 70 years of age during the study period, including 36 cases of HCC, 5 cases of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, 5 cases of liver metastasis of colorectal cancer, 7 cases of IHD stone, 3 cases of biliary cystadenoma, 2 cases of biliary IPMN, 2 cases of hemangioma, and 1 case of liver cyst. The ratio of anatomical resection to non-anatomical resection was 47:14. LLR group (n=61) had a significantly shorter postoperative hospital stay than the OLR group (n=61) (9.1 ?2.3 vs 12.3 ?2.1 days, p<0.001).

Conclusions : LLR is a well considered operation in patients over 70 years of age who have no abnormality in pulmonary and cardiac function. The authors suggest that LLR could be a reasonable operative option for selected old aged patients.