Feasibility of hand-assisted laparoscopic cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for peritoneal surface malignancy.

BACKGROUND: In light of the modern surgical trend towards minimally invasive surgery, we aim to assess the feasibility of hand-assisted laparoscopic (HAL) cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in peritoneal surface malignancy (PSM).
METHODS: Patients with PSM secondary to colorectal cancer or pseudomyxoma peritonei with peritoneal cancer index (PCI) of ≤ 10 were considered for HAL CRS and HIPEC. One patient had PCI of 15 but based on the disease distribution laparoscopic-assisted CRS and HIPEC was thought to be feasible, thus was also included. These patients were compared to matched controls who underwent open CRS and HIPEC for similar pathologies. Matching was performed on age and PCI to reflect a comparable complexity of the operation, and tumor grade for comparable risk of disease recurrence.
RESULTS: Eleven patients were included in each group. In both groups, mean PCI was 4.1, mean age was 58.5 years, and 81.8% were well-moderately differentiated tumors. Complete cytoreduction was achieved in all patients. Upon comparison, HAL patients had significantly less blood loss and 3-day shorter hospitalization. No difference was demonstrated in operative time, number of visceral resections, and rate of omentectomy/peritonectomy. Also, no difference was detected in morbidities and 30-day readmission rates. No intraperitoneal recurrences have been reported in the HAL group after a median follow-up of 11 months.
CONCLUSION: HAL CRS and HIPEC is a feasible procedure and can be considered for PSM with low PCI. It offers very acceptable and comparable short-term outcomes to the conventional open approach.