Single Incision Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy
A. Cotirlet, M. Nedelcu, E. Popa, R. Anghel, S. Rau, I. Motoc, E. TincuOriginal article, no. 6, 2014
Background: As surgeons embrace the concept of increasinglyless invasive surgery, techniques using only a single smallincision have begun to gain traction. Multiple case seriesmanaged by a single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy(SILC) have been published. The objective of this study is todescribe the short-term outcomes of SILC in our institution.Methods: A retrospective review was done for 51 patientswho underwent SILC between 2009-2012. The operativetime, surgical technique, conversion rate, and postoperativecomplications were reported.Results: SILC was performed for 51 patients, all women, with amean age of 35.6 years (range=19-62). Their body mass index(BMI) ranged from 16.8-35.6 kg m2 with a mean of 20.4. Twelvepatients (23.52 %) had acute cholecystitis. The mean operatingtime was 58.6 minutes (range=45-95 min). Incidents wereencountered in 6 patients (11.76%) and were related tointraoperative bleeding. There was a single conversion to thestandard laparoscopic procedure (1.9%) and in 5 cases anaccessory needle grasp was used (9.8%). Two patients (3.9%)presented postoperative complications (wound infections) andthe mean hospital stay was 1.6 days.Conclusions: SILC is feasible and provides a promisingalternative to natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgeryfor scarless laparoscopic cholecystectomy. However, routineapplication of this novel technique requires an evaluation of itssafety and cost effectiveness in larger studies.