Total laparoscopic left lateral sectionectomy performed in a child with benign liver mass.

Despite the increasing number of recent reports on laparoscopic liver resection in adults, there are only rare reports on such a procedure being performed in children. The authors report here on a total laparoscopic left lateral sectionectomy that was performed in a 5-year-old girl who had a cystic tumor of the liver. The operative time was 150 minutes, the estimated blood loss was about 100 mL, and no intraoperative transfusion was required. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 11 without any significant complications. The postoperative pathology of the specimen confirmed it to be a mesenchymal hamartoma of the liver with a disease-free resection margin. This case demonstrates that laparoscopic liver resection can be a safe and feasible operative procedure for the pediatric patient with liver disease.