Wu JX, Fu YY, Jia CJ. Application of laparoscopic intraoperative ultrasound in laparoscopic hepatic resection for liver tumor. World J Gastrointest Surg 2025; 17(7): 101217 [DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v17.i7.101217]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Chang-Jun Jia, Associate Chief Physician, Associate Professor, Department of General Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, No. 36 Sanhao Street, Heping District, Shenyang 110004, Liaoning Province, China. jiacj_sj@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Surgery
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastrointest Surg. Jul 27, 2025; 17(7): 101217 Published online Jul 27, 2025. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v17.i7.101217
Application of laparoscopic intraoperative ultrasound in laparoscopic hepatic resection for liver tumor
Ji-Xing Wu, Yan-Yang Fu, Chang-Jun Jia
Ji-Xing Wu, Yan-Yang Fu, Chang-Jun Jia, Department of General Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110004, Liaoning Province, China
Author contributions: Wu JX was responsible for writing the main content of the article; Fu YY searched the literature; Jia CJ was mainly responsible for revising the content of the article; All authors approved the final manuscript and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Supported by Liaoning Province People's Livelihood Science and Technology (Health) Plan Joint Project, No. 2021JH2/10300127; and the State Scholarship Funding of CSC, No. 201908865001.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Chang-Jun Jia, Associate Chief Physician, Associate Professor, Department of General Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, No. 36 Sanhao Street, Heping District, Shenyang 110004, Liaoning Province, China. jiacj_sj@163.com
Received: September 8, 2024 Revised: April 8, 2025 Accepted: May 29, 2025 Published online: July 27, 2025 Processing time: 318 Days and 2.3 Hours
Abstract
Laparoscopic or robotic surgery accounts for an increasing proportion of liver surgery. However, the lack of haptic feedback results in a certain amount of risk. The use of laparoscopic ultrasound (LUS) enables the operator to observe internal structures of the liver in real time to easily avoid the main blood vessels. It also allows for the detection of tumor boundaries and the extent of tumor thrombi, considerably improving the success rate of the operation. Besides its advantages in detecting small lesions that are not detectable through preoperative imaging, thus assisting diagnosis and staging, the LUS can also be used to monitor ablation therapy, portal vein puncture staining, and lesion blood perfusion. Recent advances in technology like contrast-enhanced intraoperative ultrasound and real-time virtual sonography can help surgeons better perform laparoscopic surgery. For liver surgeons, LUS is an essential technique for safely performing laparoscopic surgery, making their proficiency in the use of LUS vital. This article reviews the application of LUS in laparoscopic hepatic resection of liver tumors and the new technology of LUS to help liver surgeons understand the current application status of LUS and the future research directions.
Core Tip: With the gradual rise in the adaption of minimally invasive surgery, the proportion of laparoscopic liver surgery is gradually increasing, and laparoscopic ultrasound (LUS) has become an imperative tool for replacing haptic feedback during surgery, helping guide smooth operation and guarantee surgical safety. This paper reviews the application of LUS, such as laparoscopic ablation, portal vein puncture staining, and its latest progress like contrast-enhanced intraoperative ultrasound and real-time virtual sonography.
