Safety and Short-term Efcacy of a Laparoscopic Complete Mesocolic Excision for the Surgical Treatment of Right Hemicolon Cancer

Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the safety and short-term efficacy of a laparoscopic complete mesocolic excision (CME) in patients with right hemicolon cancer. Methods: A total of 88 patients with right hemicolon cancer were retrospectively reviewed. Forty patients underwent laparoscopic CMEs, and 48 patients underwent open CMEs. The clinical data were analyzed and the outcomes were compared between the two groups. Results: There was no significant difference between the laparoscopic CME group and open CME group with regard to the harvested lymph node number (16.60±3.20 vs. 15.33±3.10, respectively, P=0.060), hospital stay length (18.15±5.17 days vs. 17.21±4.47 days, respectively, P=0.360), and postoperative complications (10.0% vs. 10.4%, respectively, P=0.950). The operation time in the laparoscopic CME group (3.02±0.55 hours) was significantly longer than that in the open CME group (2.58±0.50 hours, P=0.004). The time to first flatus (3.28±0.75 days vs 3.92±0.71 days, respectively, P=0.001) and getting out of bed time (1.95±0.75 days vs 3.54±0.71 days, respectively, P=0.001) were both earlier in the laparoscopic CME group than in the open CME group. Conclusion: A laparoscopic CME is a safe and effective minimally invasive surgery for the treatment of right hemicolon cancer.