The impact of body mass index on short-term and long-term surgical outcomes of laparoscopic hepatectomy in liver carcinoma patients: a retrospective study

Background It was generally accepted that obesity could increase the morbidity and mortality of surgical patients. However, the influence of body mass index (BMI) on short-term and long-term surgical outcomes of laparoscopic hepatectomy (LH) for patients with liver carcinoma remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of BMI on surgical outcomes. Methods From August 2003 to April 2016, 201 patients with liver carcinoma who underwent LH were enrolled in our study. Based on their BMI in line with the WHO's definition of obesity for the Asia-Pacific region, patients were divided into three groups: underweight (BMI< 18.5 kg/m(2)), normal weight (18.5 <= BMI< 23 kg/m(2)), and overweight (BMI >= 23 kg/m(2)). Demographics and surgical outcomes of laparoscopic hepatectomy were compared in different BMI stratification. We investigated overall survival and relapse-free survival across the BMI categories. Results Of the 201 patients, 23 (11.44%) were underweight, 96 (47.76%) were normal weight, and 82 (40.80%) were overweight. The overall complication rate in the underweight group was much higher than that in the normal weight and overweight groups (p=0.048). Postoperative complications, underweight patients developed grade III or higher Clavien-Dindo classifications (p=0.042). Among the three BMI groups, there were no significant differences in overall and relapse-free survival with Kaplan-Meier analysis (p=0.104 and p=0.190, respectively). On the other hand, gender, age, liver cirrhosis, bile leak, ascites, and Clavien classification (III-IV) were not independent risk factors for overall and relapse-free survival in multivariable Cox proportional hazards models. Conclusions BMI status does not affect patients with liver carcinoma long-term surgical outcomes concerned to overall survival and relapse-free survival after laparoscopic hepatectomy. However, being underweight was associated with an increased perioperative complication rate, and perioperative careful monitoring might be required after hepatectomy for underweight with liver carcinoma.