Perioperative outcomes and histopathology
When comparing the OH versus LH groups, the rate of major hepatectomy was higher in the OH group versus the LH group (38.5% vs. 11.1%, p < 0.001) (Table 2). On the other hand, the LH group, compared to the OH group, had significantly shorter median operation time (208 vs. 255 min, p = 0.025) and intraoperative blood loss (250.0 vs. 355.0 mL, p = 0.005). In the favorable location subgroup analysis, more patients in the F-OH group underwent major hepatectomy compared to the F-LH group (38.1% vs. 4.5%, p < 0.001). The median operation time and the intraoperative blood loss were similar in both groups. The intraoperative transfusion rate was significantly lower in F-LH group (2.3% vs. 14.3%, p = 0.042).
The LH group, compared to the OH group, had more patients with solitary HCC (90.5% vs. 76.0%, p = 0.022) and smaller median tumor diameter (3.0 vs. 4.0 cm, p = 0.001) (Table 2). In the favorable location subgroup analysis, majority of patients in both groups underwent hepatectomy for solitary tumors (85.7% in F-OH group vs. 88.6% in F-LH group, p = 0.755). The median tumor diameter was smaller in the F-LH group versus the F-OH group (3.0 vs. 4.3 cm, p = 0.005). The resection margin status and Ishak score were not significantly different between the two groups.