[An elderly patient with hepatocellular carcinoma-treatment by transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and subsequent laparoscopic hepatectomy].

An 81-year-old woman was followed-up for HCV-associated chronic hepatitis from 1995, and in 2005, a hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) of approximately 4-cm diameter was detected in the left lateral segment of the liver. HCC was treated by transcatheter arterial-chemoembolization (TACE). In 2007 and 2009, we performed TACE 3 times for recurrent HCCs. After the last TACE, a recurrent lesion was present close to the treated lesion, and we performed laparoscopic left lateral segmentectomy in 2010, when the patient was 85 years old. She was discharged 12 days after the operation without any morbidity, and did not experience recurrent HCC for 2 years. Laparoscopic hepatectomy for HCC is an alternative radical and potentially less invasive approach for elderly persons.