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PubMed1983

Laparoscopy in female infertility. Diagnosis and prognosis for subsequent pregnancy.

Laparoscopy for the investigation of infertility was performed in 433 women. The rate of pathologic findings was 70%. No fewer than 55% of patients with no history of gynecologic disease and normal hysterosalpingography (HSG) were found to have pathologic findings. When comparing the patency of the Fallopian tubes at HSG and laparoscopy the overall agreement was 71%. Sixty-eight of the patents with no other cause for infertility had the abdominal tubal ostia catheterized at laparoscopy. In 20 of these, small adhesions that could interfere with ovum pick-up were found and divided. The pregnancy rate in this group was 70%, which is significantly higher than the pregnancy rate of 44% in 59 otherwise normal patients who did not have their tubes catheterized. The subsequent pregnancy rate for patients with different findings at laparoscopy is described. The role of HSG compared with laparoscopy is discussed. It is concluded that laparoscopy should be performed in all patients of female infertility, with the exception of those who have bilateral hydrosalpinges without patency on HSG. These patients are offered laparotomy for salpingostomy without laparoscopy. The catherterization of the Fallopian tubes at laparoscopy is a new method to find an easily treatable cause of infertility.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

Diagnostic laparoscopy in infertile women with normal hysterosalpingograms.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the value of laparoscopy in infertile women with normal hysterosalpingograms, with and without risk factors suggesting pelvic disease. STUDY DESIGN: We retrospectively reviewed 1,022 consecutive charts from a tertiary infertility practice. In 265 women, laparoscopies were performed after normal hysterosalpingograms. RESULTS: Laparoscopies were normal in 136 (51%) women, whereas 129 (49%) had one or more abnormal laparoscopic findings, including minimal or mild endometriosis (n = 85), moderate or severe endometriosis (n = 11), adnexal adhesions (n = 27), subserosal myomas (n = 17), ovarian neoplasms (n = 5), distal phimosis (n = 1) and salpingitis isthmica nodosa (n = 1). Only 7% of cases had findings that might require standard operative laparoscopy or laparotomy, although not all were causally related to infertility. A history of dysmenorrhea or dyspareunia increased the likelihood of detecting endometriosis from 41% to 64% and 69%, respectively. The presence of both symptoms increased the likelihood to 83%. CONCLUSION: In the presence of a normal hysterosalpingogram, laparoscopy identified other pelvic disease in about half of patients. Because most abnormalities were mild, this knowledge can be used to plan a micro-laparoscopic approach for many women, reserving traditional or operative laparoscopy for women with an abnormal hysterosalpingogram or extensive disease following micro-laparoscopy. Alternately, knowledge of the nature and severity of the expected laparoscopic findings might lead to bypassing laparoscopy in favor of assisted reproduction when the perceived benefit of surgical intervention is small.

Adnexal Diseases↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The direct trocar technique: an alternative approach to abdominal entry for laparoscopy.

OBJECTIVE: The direct trocar technique is an alternative to Veress needle insertion and open laparoscopy for accessing the abdominal cavity for operative laparoscopy. We review our approach to abdominal entry in 1385 laparoscopies performed between September 1993 and June 2000 by our group at Stanford University Hospital, a tertiary Medical Center. METHODS: We performed a retrospective chart review of 1385 patients who underwent operative laparoscopy during the study years. The mode of abdominal entry, patient demographics, and complications were reviewed. RESULTS: The transumbilical direct trocar entry method was used in 1223 patients. In 133 patients, the Veress needle insertion technique was used. Open laparoscopy was used in 22 patients. Three (0.21%) major complicadons occurred: 1 enterotomy, 1 omental herniation, and 1 bowel hemiation. One complication was related to primary access (0.072%) in a patient who had an open laparoscopy. She sustained an enterotomy during placement of the primary trocar. The bowel was repaired laparoscopically. No trocar-related injuries occurred among the 1223 patients in whom the direct trocar entry technique was used. One patient had an omental herniation and required a repeat laparoscopy on postoperative day 2. The second patient had a repeat laparoscopy on the 12th postoperative day to repair a bowel herniation. None of our patients required a laparotomy. No vascular injuries occurred. CONCLUSION: Based on our experience, the direct trocar technique is a safe approach to abdominal entry for laparoscopic surgery.

Abdomen↗

PubMed2002

[Clinical study on 235 cases performed under hysteroscopy combined with laparoscopy].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical value of using hysteroscopy combined with laparoscopy in gynecologic disease. METHODS: From January 1995 to January 2001, two hundred thirty five operations were performed under hysteroscopy combined with laparoscopy. This paper focuses on their indications, method and complications as well as management. RESULTS: Among the 235 cases, all of them were performed more than two procedures inside uterine and pelvic cavity. Hysteroscopy underwent on all cases for the lesion of uterine cavity except one changed laparotomy due to heavy bleeding. These hysteroscopy included some complicated operations such as transcervical resection of septum, transcervical resection of adhesion, transcervical resection of embryo bones and IUD pieces embedded endometrium as well as transcervical resection of myoma that the size was bigger than 4.5 centimeter or intramural and broad peduncle one. Seven cases with incomplete uterine perforation and three cases with uterine perforation were found by laparoscopy during hysteroscopic procedures and treated under laparoscopy. In addition, other laparoscopic procedures such as cystectomy, adhesiolysis, myomectomy, hydrotubation, salpingostomy and oophorectomy etc. Were also performed. There were no complications caused by hysteroscopy combined with laparoscopy. CONCLUSIONS: Hysteroscopy combined with laparoscopy can be performed under one anesthesia and managed the lesions in both uterine and pelvic cavity that could not be treated previously with single hysteroscopy or laparoscopy. Hysteroscopy combined with laparoscopy can find out and treat uterine perforation timely and reduce complications.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Randomized comparison of laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy with standard vaginal hysterectomy in an outpatient setting.

OBJECTIVE: To compare outpatient laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy with standard outpatient vaginal hysterectomy. METHODS: Fifty-six women scheduled for vaginal hysterectomy were randomly assigned to undergo either a laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy with endoscopic staples (N = 29) or a standard vaginal hysterectomy (N = 27). There were no differences between the study groups with regard to age, gravidity, parity, preoperative indications, and previous operations. RESULTS: Twenty-eight of 29 laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomies and all 27 vaginal hysterectomies were completed without incident. When indicated, unilateral or bilateral oophorectomies were completed. The mean operating time was significantly longer for laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy (120.1 versus 64.7 minutes). Fifty-three of the 55 patients completing surgery were discharged home by 12 hours from the time of admission. Complications with laparoscopic hysterectomy were related to the technical aspects of laparoscopy. The incidence of febrile morbidity was similar in the groups. Although patients having laparoscopy-assisted hysterectomy required statistically significantly more pain medication and had lower postoperative hematocrit measurements, this did not make a clinical difference in the postoperative courses. The mean hospital charge for laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy was $7905 and for vaginal hysterectomy $4891. CONCLUSION: Other than cost, laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy and standard vaginal hysterectomy appear comparable in patients who could otherwise undergo a vaginal hysterectomy.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The benefit of laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy compared with conventional open distal gastrectomy: a case-matched control study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy is a surgical procedure which is safe, useful, and technically feasible for patients with early gastric cancer. The aim of this study is to determine whether laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy is also superior to conventional open distal gastrectomy. METHODOLOGY: The study comprised 27 consecutive patients with early gastric cancer who were admitted to our hospital from 1997 to 2000 and underwent distal gastrectomy. Ten patients underwent laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy; and 17 conventional open distal gastrectomy. RESULTS: Estimated blood loss was 17.7 +/- 12.1 g during laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy, and 250.0 +/- 160.8 g during conventional open distal gastrectomy. The difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). The day of ambulation (2.7 +/- 0.7 vs. 1.0 +/- 0.0), and start of liquid diet (6.9 +/- 1.2 vs. 4.3 +/- 0.5) were significantly delayed in conventional open distal gastrectomy compared with laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (p < 0.001, p < 0.05). At the 3rd postoperative day, the serum C-reactive protein level in laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy decreased significantly more than that in conventional open distal gastrectomy (4.2 +/- 1.7 vs. 9.4 +/- 2.5: p < 0.05). No postoperative complication was found in laparaoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy is a safe and useful operation for most early gastric cancers. Laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy has been superior to conventional open distal gastrectomy.

Aged↗

PubMed2004

Exploratory laparoscopy at suspicion of acute appendicitis. Review.

Exploratory laparoscopy has been used since 1910 and is one of the new tools for diagnosing appendicitis on a routine basis. It can be looked upon as "semi-invasive" in comparison to on one hand ultrasonography/CT/MRI and on the other open laparotomy. According to the literature, mostly in retrospective studies, laparoscopy might reduce the frequencies of unnecessary appendectomies in 20-30 percent and an accuracy of diagnosis of appendicitis of 95-99 percent. This means that laparoscopy has a sensitivity of 92 percent in diagnosing acute appendicitis, including all cases of mucosal inflammation only. This means, however, that about one in 11 appendicitis is missed and it is still a question as to whether an appendix that looks normal at laparoscopy for acute right iliac fossa pain should be removed, or whether if it is not removed, there is a risk of missing an early case of appendicitis later leading to perforation and peritonitis? Mucosal inflammation obviously can never be determined in the appendix is left in place. However, a summery of available data seems to favour that it is distinctly uncommon that explorative laparoscopy misses any acute appendicitis that requires appendectomy. If there are cases of acute appendicitis not requiring appendectomy can only be known in prospective studies. A Cochran review was published in early 2002 and analysed 45 randomized trials, 39 of which had been carried out in adults, comparing both therapeutic and diagnostic outcomes of patients undergoing open or laparoscopic surgery for suspected appendicitis. Diagnostic outcomes favoured the laparoscopic approach in that both the negative appendectomy rate and "the frequency of an unestablished diagnosis" were reduced, most significantly in women in their reproductive years. However, in the conclusion the authors sounded a note of caution about the quality of some of the research data they had analysed, and recommended that more blinded studies be performed. Because there is a belief that laparoscopic appendectomy is less likely to cause intraperitoneal adhesions than open surgery, they also recommended longer follow-up studies to assess the relative incidences of obstruction due to adhesions resulting from the two techniques. Therefore, the conclusion can be drawn that in all equivocal cases laparoscopy is better than laparotomy as the initial step in year 2003. However, there is still a lack of data comparing non-invasive modern techniques such as ultrasonography and CT with laparoscopy, and the value of laparoscopy after the best available ultrasonography or CT.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed2006

Role of laparoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of adnexal masses.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopy has been accepted for years as a management of benign ovarian tumors. The aim of this study was to estimate the feasibility and safety of laparoscopy in diagnosis and management of adnexal masses. METHODS: A total of 2083 patients with benign adnexal mass were treated by laparoscopy at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2000 to December 2003. Their clinical data were reviewed retrospectively. All the adnexal masses suspicious of malignancy at the time of laparoscopy were sent for frozen section evaluation intraoperatively. The rates of unexpected intracystic vegetation and low malignant potential (LMP) tumor or malignancy were investigated. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of laparoscopic diagnosis for LMP or ovarian malignancies were calculated. The ratios were compared by Chi-square test and the continuous variables were tested using two-tailed t test. RESULTS: Of the 2083 patients, 16 had LMP or invasive tumors (0.77%), among which 14 were diagnosed histologically intraoperatively and 2 postoperatively. Fifty-five (2.6%) of the 2083 patients had unexpected intracystic vegetations. Their frozen sections showed benign tumors in 41 (74.5%), LMP tumors in 8 (14.5%), and focal invasive ovarian cancers (stage Ic) in 6 (10.9%). The final pathological diagnosis were benign tumors in 41 (74.5%), LMP tumors 7 (12.7%), and focal invasive ovarian cancers (stage Ic) in 7 (12.7%). Laparoscopy achieved a sensitivity of 87.5%, specificity of 98%, positive predictive value of 25.5%, and negative predictive value of 99.9% in the diagnosis of ovarian malignancies. 2067 cases with benign adnexal masses underwent laparoscopy successfully. No conversion to laparotomy, or intra- and postoperative complications in this series. Of the 16 patients with LMP or invasive ovarian cancer, seven underwent laparoscopic surgery including immediate staging laparoscopy in 3. The mean follow-up was 17.3 months for the 16 patients. Among them, 1 developed a recurrent LMP tumor in the contralateral ovary 36 months after laparoscopic salpingo-oophorectomy, and received subsequent laparoscopic cystectomy and pelvic lymph node sampling; the others had no evidence of recurrent tumor during the follow-up. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopy is feasible for diagnosis of adnexal masses, and the surgery is safe for patients with benign ovarian tumors.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Adhesiolysis in severe and reccurent cases of adhesions related disorder (ARD) - a novel approach utilizing lift (gasless) laparoscopy and SprayGel adhesion barrier.

We investigated the feasibility and outcome of adhesiolysis in patients with severe and reccurent adhesions using lift (gasless) laparoscopy and a SprayGel adhesion barrier at the Institute for Endoscopic Gynecology (EndoGyn). The design included a prospective evaluation of lift (gasless) laparoscopic adhesiolysis in combination with a SprayGel adhesion barrier. A new score for bowel adhesions was developed and applied. All 35 patients with severe and reccurent adhesions underwent a lift-laparoscopic adhesiolysis with the Abdo-Lift and SprayGel adhesion barrier, a second-look laparoscopy at Day 7 and, in case of continuation of pain, a third-look laparoscopy within 6 months after the initial surgery. All patients were operated upon without conversion to laparotomy. The reduction in the adhesion score of adhesions at the second-look laparoscopy was overall (sum) 89.8% (90.1% reduction in extent, 89.3% reduction in severity, and 89.9% reduction in grade). Five patients (14.3%) had a third-look laparoscopy within 6 months after the initial surgery, in which four cases of adhesion reformation were confirmed. However, the scores were reduced compared to the initial surgery, especially in grade (94.2%) and severity (93.2%). In these analyses, SprayGel was uniquely effective in improving the success rates of adhesiolysis when combined with lift (gasless) laparoscopy and good hemostasis techniques. Adhesiolysis with Abdo-Lift and SprayGel had unparalleled efficacy in the adhesiolysis procedure even in those patients in whom other solutions have not worked. An overall reduction of adhesions by 89.9% at second-look laparoscopy was found. Even if five patients (14.3%) required a third-look laparoscopy where four cases of adhesion reformation were confirmed, the scores were reduced when compared to the initial surgery, especially in grade and severity.

Adult↗

PubMed1988

Value of diagnostic laparoscopy in young women with possible appendicitis.

Removal of a normal appendix because of suspected appendicitis occurs most frequently in women of reproductive age. We investigated the value of laparoscopy in the diagnostic evaluation for possible appendicitis in women of childbearing age. Fifty-one women were entered in a management protocol, which included diagnostic laparoscopy in instances with atypical features. Twenty patients underwent immediate appendectomy because of history and physical findings classical for appendicitis; 31 women with atypical history and physical findings underwent an initial diagnostic laparoscopy. In the group of patients who underwent immediate appendectomy because of classical presentation, five of the appendices removed were normal. At laparoscopy, appendicitis was diagnosed in five patients, another disease in 15 and no diagnostic abnormality was found in six. Five patients had a normal appendix removed, two because of questionable inflammation and three because of nonvisualization of the appendix. There were no false-negative examination results. Twenty-one patients required no further operative intervention after laparoscopy. The negative appendectomy rate remained unchanged (ten negative appendectomies of 30 performed). Definitive diagnoses of eight instances of pelvic inflammatory disease, six of ruptured ovarian cysts and one instance of ileitis of the small intestine were made earlier than would have been possible without diagnostic laparoscopy in this setting. Diagnostic laparoscopy permits earlier definitive diagnosis and prompt institution of appropriate therapy for disease of the female reproductive tract that simulates appendicitis. Caution is advised, however, when diagnostic laparoscopy is applied more frequently than right lower quadrant exploration in the management of probable appendicitis. The improvement in diagnostic accuracy may be offset by an increased number of negative appendectomies resulting from nonvisualization and false-positive inflammation.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Laparoscopy and histology in the diagnosis of chronic liver disease.

We compared laparoscopy with histology in identifying fatty change, fibrosis, the degree of inflammatory activity, cirrhosis and the cause of liver disease. Laparoscopic liver biopsy was performed in 145 consecutive patients. The laparoscopist and the histologist were provided with similar clinical and biochemical information. Both scored the appearances on respective examinations for the degree of fatty change, fibrosis and activity, presence or absence of cirrhosis; and provided a provisional diagnosis. The final diagnosis was determined by clinicopathological conference and clinical follow-up. Laparoscopy was successfully performed in 142 patients (97.9%). Compared with histology, the sensitivity and specificity of laparoscopy for identifying fatty change were 96.4% and 100%, 100% and 95% for fibrosis and 94% and 95% for inflammatory activity, respectively. For cirrhosis, laparoscopy was 100% sensitive and 97.1% specific. Histology missed 10 cases of cirrhosis (6.1%). Histology did, however, provide additional information in 9 patients (6.3%) which contributed to the final diagnosis. Overall, histology is required in addition to laparoscopy in cases where the aetiology is unclear. The sensitivity and specificity in identifying fatty change, fibrosis, activity and cirrhosis are similar for laparoscopy and histology. The combination of information gained on laparoscopy with histology provides the diagnosis in most patients. Laparoscopy may replace the need for liver biopsy in patients in whom the aetiological diagnosis is not in question and the biopsy is being performed to stage the disease. We used it as an integral part of the work-up of a patient with liver disease.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

Follow-up laparoscopy in patients with ovarian cancer.

Between 1982 and 1990, two hundred and fourteen consecutive laparoscopies were performed on 75 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer when the disease appeared to be clinically in complete remission according to simultaneous CT scan or ultrasonography. Evaluation were based on macroscopic findings through the laparoscope, by cytologic examination of ascitic and peritoneal washings and by intraperitoneal biopsy. The results were positive in 34 laparoscopies for 19 patients, suspicious in 15 laparoscopies for 13 patients and negative in 164 laparoscopies. the intraperitoneal recurrence rate after negative second-look laparoscopy was 14.0% as a whole, and 4.5% in cases with more than two consecutive negative evaluations. Serum CA-125 levels exhibited and elevation in 28 of 34 positive laparoscopies before treatment and remained within the normal range in 22 (78.6%) of the 28 cases after treatment despite positive follow-up laparoscopies. The repeated laparoscopies offer the advantage of lowering the false negative rate. This will enable early detection of intraperitoneal recurrence, better prognoses and reduction of unnecessary laparotomies.

Female↗

PubMed1997

Laparoscopy. Gasless vs. CO2 pneumoperitoneum.

OBJECTIVE: To compare gasless laparoscopy with conventional laparoscopy using CO2 pneumoperitoneum. STUDY DESIGN: Women undergoing bilateral laparoscopic tubal coagulation (LTC) were randomly assigned to one of two laparoscopy procedures: (1) a gasless laparoscopy system consisting of an intraabdominal fan retractor and electrically powered mechanical arm, and (2) standard CO2 pneumoperitoneum laparoscopy. The two laparoscopic procedures were compared on the basis of intraoperative visualization, operation duration, procedural difficulty, ventilatory parameters, hemodynamic stability, and postoperative pain and nausea. RESULTS: Significant disadvantages for the surgeon (increased technical difficulty, poorer visualization, longer operative times) and patient (greater postoperative pain and nausea) were seen with the gasless system. Because of these findings, the study was prematurely terminated after only 18 patients had participated. Intraoperative ventilatory and hemodynamic parameters were more stable in the gasless laparoscopy groups; however, the differences were not clinically significant in this population of healthy patients. CONCLUSION: The markedly increased technical difficulty and absence of clear clinical benefits for the healthy patient led to the conclusion that laparoscopy with CO2 pneumoperitoneum is preferable for routine LTC and most laparoscopic procedures in the pelvis. Gasless laparoscopy may be of benefit for the fragile patient with a compromised cardiovascular system who may suffer complications from hypercarbenemia.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Flexible transinguinal laparoscopy to assess the contralateral ring in pediatric inguinal hernias.

The incidence of contralateral patent processus vaginalis (CPPV) is >50% in infants with clinical unilateral inguinal hernia (CUIH) and decreases only slowly with advancing age. Laparoscopy through the hernia sac (transinguinal laparoscopy) to detect suspected CPPV is a safe and efficient way to minimize routine contralateral inguinal exploration, but can be technically difficult. We used flexible urologic instruments and/or angled cystoscopic lenses to make transinguinal laparoscopy easier. Over a 3-year period, 37 patients (34 boys and 3 girls) ranging in age from 4 months to 12 years (mean age 59 months) with CUIH underwent ipsilateral groin exploration and diagnostic transinguinal laparoscopy. Laparoscopy was performed with flexible 17F cystoscopes (26 cases), flexible 9F ureteroscopes (2 cases), and rigid 70 degrees cystoscope lenses (9 cases). We detected eight CPPV (22%) in our series of 20 right and 17 left inguinal hernias, in a mean transinguinal laparoscopy time of 4.5 minutes. At 26-month mean follow-up, no patient whose contralateral inguinal ring was deemed closed had developed a hernia. Flexible fiberoptic urologic scopes and/or angled cystoscope lenses make transinguinal laparoscopy easy and efficacious in the pediatric population. Our series represents the longest longitudinal study of transinguinal laparoscopy for the diagnosis of CPPV.

Child↗

PubMed2006

Intraobserver and interobserver reliability of videotaped laparoscopy evaluations for endometriosis and adhesions.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the intra- and interobserver reliability of evaluations during videotaped laparoscopy, with real-time laparoscopy as the "gold standard." DESIGN: Prospective evaluation. SETTING: University hospital. PATIENT(S): Women who underwent laparoscopy for chronic pelvic pain, sterilization, or infertility workup. INTERVENTION(S): Real-time laparoscopies were videotaped and scored then later reassessed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Intra- and interobserver levels of agreement between evaluations for endometriosis and adhesions. RESULT(S): With the use of reassessments on 90 (videotaped) laparoscopies, the intra- and interobserver levels of agreement between the scorings for endometriosis were found to be substantial, except for ovarian implantations. A high agreement was found in the staging of endometriotic disease. The intra- and interobserver levels of agreement for scoring adhesions were only fair to moderate, and a substantial number of differences between measurements in adhesion total scores was found. No systematic difference between the number of disagreements was observed in either setting. CONCLUSION(S): Although special attention has to be given to the assessments of ovarian lesions, the evaluations of videotaped laparoscopies for endometriosis were reliable and justified the use of recorded findings. Because evaluations of adhesions during videotaped laparoscopy are not reliable, in some cases a second laparoscopy may need to be performed.

Adult↗

PubMed1985

Laparoscopy or scanning in oesophageal and gastric carcinoma?

A prospective study was undertaken of the accuracy in diagnosing intra-abdominal metastatic disease of the liver by scintigraphy, ultrasound scanning and laparoscopy. The effect of laparoscopy on management was also studied. Fifty patients were studied: 23 oesophageal carcinoma, 14 gastric carcinoma and 13 with suspected intra-abdominal metastatic spread. Accuracy was determined by laparoscopic biopsy, laparotomy and autopsy. The accuracy was 72 per cent for scintigraphy, 75 per cent for ultrasound and 96 per cent for laparoscopy (with 10 per cent failed ultrasound due to intra-abdominal gas). There was no morbidity or mortality associated with laparoscopy, with one failure due to adhesions. Thirteen patients without hepatic metastases had nodal and/or peritoneal spread diagnosed only by laparoscopy. Laparotomy was avoided in 58 per cent, and 74 per cent died in the 18 month follow-up period. Laparoscopy can obviate the need for laparotomy in inoperable cases of oesophageal carcinoma and allow better planning for potentially curable surgery. In gastric carcinoma the value of laparoscopy is doubtful as a high percentage require at least palliative surgery.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗

PubMed2002

Explorative laparoscopy prior to exenterative surgery.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to identify the advantages and limits of laparoscopy for assessment of eligibility for exenterative procedures in patients with gynecologic malignancies. METHODS: Between April 1998 and April 2001, 41 consecutive patients with primary or recurrent gynecologic malignancy underwent explorative laparoscopy to detect eligibility for exenteration. RESULTS: Mean age of patients was 54 years (range, 31-80 years). Twenty out of 41 (48.7%) patients underwent exclusively explorative laparoscopy due to unresectable disease or intraabdominal spread of disease. Median operative time for this cohort of patients was 69.1 min (range, 10-278), median blood loss was 30 cc (range 10-60) and no complications occurred. Based on findings of explorative laparoscopy 21 out of 41 (51.2%) patients were eligible for exenteration. Evaluation of extension of disease was correctly done by laparoscopy and was not corrected at laparotomy. One patient out of 21 (4.76%) had extension of disease missed at both laparoscopy and laparotomy and discovered only at an advanced phase of exenteration. Histology of exenterative specimens confirmed laparoscopic evaluation in 20 out of 21 patients (95.25%). CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopy proved effective for evaluation of patients who were candidates for exenteration and helped to avoid unnecessary laparotomy in half of the candidate patients.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Staging laparoscopy for potentially resectable noncolorectal, nonneuroendocrine liver metastases.

BACKGROUND: Carefully selected patients with noncolorectal, nonneuroendocrine (NCNN) liver metastases may benefit from hepatic resection. The incidence of occult unresectable disease and the possible benefits of staging laparoscopy in these patients are not known. METHODS: From December 1997 to July 2000, staging laparoscopy was performed in 30 consecutive patients with NCNN metastases before planned open exploration and resection. Demographics, extent of preoperative imaging, operative and postoperative findings, and factors associated with laparoscopic identification of unresectable disease were analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty-four patients (80%) had a complete laparoscopic examination, and 23 had laparoscopic ultrasonography. All patients underwent preoperative computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, and 21 (70%) patients had 2 or more preoperative radiological studies. Overall, nine patients had unresectable disease, six of whom were identified by laparoscopy. Of the remaining 24 patients believed to have resectable disease at laparoscopy, 21 went on to a potentially curative procedure. Laparoscopy did not identify irresectability because of vascular involvement in three patients. Laparoscopy added a median of 30 minutes of operative time to those patients going on to laparotomy. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopy identified the majority of patients with occult unresectable disease, improved resectability, and should be routine in patients being considered for potentially curative hepatic resection.

Adult↗