ObjectiveTo investigate clinical value of laparoscopic hepatectomy applied to the treatment in the elderly patients with primary small hepatocellular carcinoma. MethodsClinical data of 37 primary small hepatocellular carcinoma patients undergoing laparoscopic hepatectomy were retrospectively analyzed, including preoperative and postoperative laboratory data, operation-related indicators, incident rate of postoperative complications, recurrence rate and mortality rate during follow-up. ResultsAmong the 37 cases, laparoscopic hepatectomy was performed without blocking the hepatic blood flow in 35 cases, while conversion to open laparotomy in 2 cases. The operation duration was 25-142(48.51±23.37)min, and the intraoperative blood loss was 20-180（41.08±25.28）mL. Postoperative complications of subcutaneous effusion of incision and ascites occurred in 2 cases and 1 case respectively, no other complications such as biliary fistula, postoperative infection and gas embolism occurred, and the perioperative mortality was 0. The postoperative hospital stay was 4-11（6.51±1.89）d. The duration of postoperative follow-up was 6-45（20.43±9.22）months, and intrahepatic recurrence ex situ occurred in 2 patients, the 1-year survival rate was 100.00% (37/37) and the tumor-free survival rate was 97.30% (36/37). ConclusionLaparoscopic hepatectomy is a safe and feasible method for the elderly primary small hepatocellular carcinoma patients with indications, and the patients recover quickly and the hospital stay is short. it can be considered as one of the standard surgical procedures for elderly patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma.

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