Background: The role of laparoscopic surgery for malignant gallbladder tumors remains uncertain. This study compared the surgical results of laparoscopic versus conventional open cholecystectomy for patients with early-stage gallbladder carcinoma and examined the role of laparoscopic surgery for early gallbladder carcinomas.
Methods: Data for the treatment of gallbladder carcinomas were gathered from Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (Linkou, Taiwan). A retrospective analysis of 40 patients with either stage 0 or stage 1 gallbladder carcinoma was performed. The patients were categorized into two groups on the basis of cholecystectomy procedures. The long-term outcomes for the two groups were compared.
Results: During the follow-up period, which ranged from 6.5 to 197.6 months, four patients in the conventional open cholecystectomy group encountered tumor recurrence, and one patient in the laparoscopic cholecystectomy group experienced distant tumor recurrence (p = 0.216). No local port-site tumor recurrence was identified in patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The overall 5-year survival rate in this series was 87.1%. A comparison of survival rates between the two groups demonstrated no significant difference (p = 0.340).
Conclusion: The laparoscopic cholecystectomy procedure did not adversely influence the prognosis of patients with early-stage gallbladder carcinomas. Furthermore, meticulous removal of gallbladders during laparoscopic surgery, in which early gallbladder carcinoma can be managed successfully using laparoscopic cholecystectomy, achieved a satisfactory surgical result and a low port-site tumor recurrence rate.