Self-assessment of postoperative scars in living liver donors.
BACKGROUND
The application of less invasive techniques for liver surgery in patients undergoing living donor hepatectomy (LDH) has been reported. The objective of this study was to evaluate physical status according to type of incision in donors.


METHODS
One hundred and forty-seven living liver donors underwent hepatectomy using three types of incisions: (i) Mercedes-Benz incision (M.B.), (ii) right subcostal incision with midline up to xiphoid incision (S.C.), and (iii) short upper midline incision (U.M.). A total of 100 donors answered the questionnaires, and 87 had sufficient data for the analyses. An original questionnaire designed to evaluate the physical status concerning postoperative scars. The questionnaire consisted of three major categories: appearance, sensation, and daily activities. The univariate analysis was performed using the chi-square test.


RESULTS
Numbness of the abdominal wall was reported more frequently by the donor with M.B.s and right subcostal incisions up to xiphoid incisions. In terms of appearance, sensation, and daily activities, LDH with a U.M. was found to have a good self-assessment compared with that performed using other types of incisions.


CONCLUSIONS
LDH with a U.M. is a preferable procedure in terms of physical status and safety.
['Imamura|Hajime|H|', 'Soyama|Akihiko|A|', 'Takatsuki|Mitsuhisa|M|', 'Muraoka|Izumi|I|', 'Hara|Takanobu|T|', 'Yamaguchi|Izumi|I|', 'Tanaka|Takayuki|T|', 'Kinoshita|Ayaka|A|', 'Kuroki|Tamotsu|T|', 'Eguchi|Susumu|S|']
D000203:Activities of Daily Living D000328:Adult D002921:Cicatrix D005260:Female D005500:Follow-Up Studies D006498:Hepatectomy D006801:Humans D016031:Liver Transplantation D019520:Living Donors D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D011183:Postoperative Complications D011379:Prognosis D012647:Self-Assessment D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D015996:Survival Rate
self-assessment upper midline incision questionnaire body image living donor liver transplantation