Laparoscopic versus open hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma: improvement in outcomes and similar cost.

Objective: To compare outcomes of laparoscopic versus open hepatic resection (OHR) exclusively for hepatocellular carcinoma in terms of morbidity and cost.

Background: Laparoscopic hepatic resection (LHR) has become more prevalent with recent improvements in instrumentation and surgeon experience.

Methods: A review of multicenter, prospectively collected hepatobiliary databases from three institutions was performed from 12/1990 to 12/2009.