Introduction : Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPC) after laparoscopic liver resection are the commonest complications and associated with increase the length of hospital stays. Although several studies have focused on the risk factors for PPC after abdominal surgery, few have investigated the risk factors for PPC after laparoscopic liver resection. The purpose of this study was to identify the risk factors for PPC after laparoscopic liver resection.

Methods : This was a retrospective study. Data on 186 patients who underwent laparoscopic liver resection between January 2010 and December 2018, were retrieved from a database. We retrospectively evaluated the incidence of PPCs and their risk factors in laparoscopic liver resection.

Results : In 186 patients who underwent laparoscopic liver resection, the incidence of PPC was 14.3% (n=25) including symptomatic pleural effusion in 9.1% (n=16), pneumonia in 3.4% (n=6) and acute respiratory distress syndrome in 1.7% (n=3). Multivariated logistic repression analysis revealed that the risk factors for PPC were overweight (BMI>28) (HR: 3.778, 95% CI: 1.1060-13.467: P=0.040), posteosuperior segment on right liver (VII,VIII) (HR: 8.483, 95% CI: 1.780-40.433: P=0.007). The length of postoperative hospital stay (16.9 ± 7.5 days vs. 13.1 ± 7.7 days, P = .048) were significantly longer in the patients with PPC.

Conclusions : We founded risk factors after laparoscopic liver resection. Our date proved useful information to prevent of PPC and reduce the length of hospital stays in patients underwent laparoscopic liver resection.