*Purpose: Due to increased experience and knowledge in laparoscopic surgery in the era of minimally invasive surgery, laparoscopic donor hepatectomy is also being increasingly performed at some centers, especially in Korea where more than 700 cases of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) are performed. The aim of this is to present the outcomes of experiences of 5 large volume LDLT centers in Korea.

*Methods: Data from live liver donors who underwent pure laparoscopic hepatectomy at 5 centers in Korea until June 2018 were retrospectively analyzed.

*Results: Among 511 donors, 54.0% were male. Mean age at donation was 31.9 years and mean body mass index was 23.4 kg/m². 91.2% underwent right hepatectomy without middle hepatic vein (MHV), 2.9% right hepatectomy with MHV, 1.8% left hepatectomy without MHV, 2.3% left hepatectomy with MHV, and 1.8% left lateral sectionectomy. Mean operative time was 395.8 minutes and mean warm ischemic time was 9.0 minutes. Mean graft weight was 682.3 g and mean graft-to-recipient weight ratio was 1.1. Mean estimated blood loss was 316.8 cc and there were 10 cases (2.0%) of open conversion. Mean peak bilirubin level was 3.5 mg/dL, AST 227.6 IU/L, and ALT 233.5 IU/L. Mean hospital stay was 9.4 days. There were 15 donor who experienced minor complications (7 donors with wound complication, 3 donors with pleural effusion, 4 donors requiring antibiotics for fluid collection, and 1 donor with pulmonary embolism). There were 19 donors who experienced biliary complication requiring procedure or reoperation. Four donors experienced vascular complication recovered by vascular intervention or reoperation. There were 4 donors with postoperative bleeding requiring reoperation for bleeding control. All donors recovered well.

*Conclusions: Pure laparoscopic donor hepatectomy is a feasible procedure and can be established as the new gold standard of practice.

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