Laparoscopic radical cholecystectomy for suspected early gall bladder carcinoma: thinking beyond convention.

BACKGROUND: Gall bladder cancer (GBC) is the most common and aggressive malignancy of the biliary tract with extremely poor prognosis. Radical resection remains the only potential curative treatment for operable lesions. Although laparoscopic approach is now considered as standard of care for many gastrointestinal malignancies, surgical community is still reluctant to use this approach for GBC probably because of fear of tumor dissemination, inadequate lymphadenectomy and overall nihilistic approach. Aim of this study was to share our initial experience of laparoscopic radical cholecystectomy (LRC) for suspected early GBC. METHODS: From 2008 to 2013, 91 patients were evaluated for suspected GBC, of which, 14 patients had early disease and underwent LRC. RESULTS: Mean age of the cohort was 61.14 ± 4.20 years with male/female ratio of 1:1.33. Mean operating time was 212.9 ± 26.73 min with mean blood loss of 196.4 ± 63.44 ml. Mean hospital stay was 5.14 ± 0.86 days without any 30-day mortality. Bile leak occurred in two patients. Out of 14 patients, 12 had adenocarcinoma, one had xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis and another had adenomyomatosis of gall bladder as final pathology. Resected margins were free in all (>1 cm). Median number of lymph nodes resected was 8 (4-14). Pathological stage of disease was pT2N0 in eight, pT2N1 in three and pT3N0 in one patient. Median follow-up was 51 (14-70) months with 5-year survival 68.75 %. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic radical cholecystectomy with lymphadenectomy can be a viable alternative for management of early GBC in terms of technical feasibility and oncological clearance along with offering the conventional advantages of minimal access approach.

Review of various liver retraction techniques in single incision laparoscopic surgery for the exposure of hiatus.

BACKGROUND: The main aspect of concern for upper GI procedures has been the retraction of the liver especially large left lobes as commonly encountered in Bariatric surgery. Not doing so would compromise the view of the hiatus, hence theoretically reducing the quality of the surgery and increasing the possibility of complications. The aim of this study was to review the various liver retraction techniques in single incision surgery being done at our institute and analyze them. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective study of the various techniques and a subsequent analysis was made based on advantages and disadvantages of each method. Objectively a quantitative measure of hiatal exposure was done using a scoring system based on the grade of exposure after reviewing the surgical videos. From January 2011 to January 2013 total 104 patients underwent single incision surgery with the various liver retraction techniques with following grades of exposure -liver suspension tube technique with naso gastric tubing (2.11) and with corrugated drain (2.09) needlescopic method (1.2), Umbilical tape sling (1.95), crural stitch method (2.5). Needeloscopic method has the best grade of exposure and is the easiest to start with. The average time to create the liver retraction was 2.8 to 8.6 min.There was no procedure related morbidity or mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The mentioned liver retraction techniques are cost effective and easy to learn. We recommend using these techniques to have a good exposure of hiatus, without compromising the safety of surgery in single incision surgery.

Laproendoscopic single site oesophageal diverticulectomy.

Epiphrenic divericula are uncommon disorders of the lower oesophagus, which are symptomatic in only 15-20% of cases. The optimum treatment modality for such cases remains an oesophageal diverticulectomy with long myotomy with or without an antireflux operation. Recently, this is increasingly being done through the laparoscopic approach. Here we describe the first reported case of oesophageal diverticulectomy through the laparoendoscopic single site approach. A 57-year-old man presented to us with 6 months history of dysphagia and regurgitation. Patient was investigated with upper gastrointestinal (UGI) endoscopy, barium swallow, CECT chest and abdomen, oesophageal manometry and 24 hour pH study. He was diagnosed to have lower oesophageal diverticulum with mildly elevated pressure readings in manometric studies with normal peristalsis. Based on his symptoms, he was taken up for surgery. A laparoscopic transhiatal oesophageal diverticulectomy with myotomy was done through laparoendoscopic single site technique. The procedure lasted 160 min. There was no intraoperative complication. Gastrograffin study was done on postoperative day 2 following which he was started on liquids. He made an uneventful recovery and was discharged on fourth day. He remained asymptomatic on follow up. Oesophageal diverticulectomy is possible through laparoendoscopic single site approach if necessary expertise is available.

Single incision laparoscopic colorectal resection: Our experience.

BACKGROUND: A prospective case series of single incision multiport laparoscopic colorectal resections for malignancy using conventional laparoscopic trocars and instruments is described. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eleven patients (seven men and four women) with colonic or rectal pathology underwent single incision multiport laparoscopic colectomy/rectal resection from July till December 2010. Four trocars were placed in a single transumblical incision. The bowel was mobilized laparoscopically and vessels controlled intracorporeally with either intra or extracorporeal anastomosis. RESULTS: Three patients had carcinoma in the caecum, one in the hepatic flexure, two in the rectosigmoid, one in the descending colon, two in the rectum and two had ulcerative pancolitis (one with high grade dysplasia and another with carcinoma rectum). There was no conversion to standard multiport laparoscopy or open surgery. The median age was 52 years (range 24-78 years). The average operating time was 130 min (range 90-210 min). The average incision length was 3.2 cm (2.5-4.0 cm). There were no postoperative complications. The average length of stay was 4.5 days (range 3-8 days). Histopathology showed adequate proximal and distal resection margins with an average lymph node yield of 25 nodes (range 16-30 nodes). CONCLUSION: Single incision multiport laparoscopic colorectal surgery for malignancy is feasible without extra cost or specialized ports/instrumentation. It does not compromise the oncological radicality of resection. Short-term results are encouraging. Long-term results are awaited.

Laparoendoscopic single-site lateral pancreaticojejunostomy.

BACKGROUND: Chronic pancreatitis is mainly managed with drugs, but surgery is required in selected groups of patients. The Partington procedure is still the procedure of choice for patients with a dilated main pancreatic duct but without an inflammatory pancreatic head mass. The same equivalent can be achieved by laparoscopic approach. Laparoendoscopic single-site surgery gained tremendous attention in the past few years. Complex surgeries are being reported using this technique. We report in this paper the first laparoendoscopic single-site lateral pancreaticojejunostomy (LPJ) for chronic calcific pancreatitis with dilated pancreatic duct. PATIENT AND METHOD: The procedure was performed on a 32-year-old female diagnosed to have chronic calcific pancreatitis. A single vertical 2.5-cm umbilical incision and one 10-mm and two 5-mm ports were made. The procedure was completed in 220 min without any intraoperative complication. There were no postoperative complications, and the patient was discharged on day 5 when she started taking routine diet. CONCLUSION: This preliminary experience suggests that single-incision laparoscopic LPJ is feasible and safe when performed by an experienced laparoscopic surgeon. It has a cosmetic advantage over laparoscopic LPJ. However, it remains to be determined if this technique offers additional advantages of decreased analgesia, decreased hospital stay or cost effectiveness. Further studies are required to analyze these factors.

Modified laparoscopic keyhole plus repair to manage a parastomal hernia: A single-center experience.

INTRODUCTION: Parastomal hernia (PH) is a common late complication of stoma formation for which laparoscopic repair is a well-accepted modality of treatment. Keyhole repair has been frequently reported with recurrence, but our modification in surgical technique have lesser and acceptable recurrence rates. The present study aimed to assess the results of modified laparoscopic keyhole plus repair in the treatment of symptomatic PH. METHODS: We reviewed our prospectively maintained database to search for patients who had undergone laparoscopic modified keyhole repair between January 2008 and April 2018. All 23 symptomatic patients who had undergone this procedure were included in the present study. RESULTS: A total of 23 patients were studied. The median age was 37 years (range, 22-54 years). Two patients with large PHs underwent open excision of the redundant skin and then laparoscopic modified keyhole repair. There was one conversion to open repair because of dense adhesions. The mean operative time was 112 ± 37 minutes. The mean postoperative hospital stay was 3 ± 2 days. There were no significant intraoperative or postoperative complications. During follow-up, three patients had a seroma, which was managed conservatively. One morbidly obese patient who had an ileal conduit-related stomal hernia had a symptomatic recurrence 3 years after surgery. CONCLUSION: The modified laparoscopic keyhole plus repair is a safe, feasible, and effective technique for PH repair; it has an acceptable recurrence rate and offers good cosmesis and functional outcomes.

Laparoscopic Major Hepatectomy-Technique and Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: With technological innovations especially newer parenchymal transection devices, improved understanding of hepatic anatomy facilitated by better imaging, and reconstructions along with experiences gained from advanced minimal invasive procedures, laparoscopic liver surgery is gaining momentum with more than 5300 reported cases worldwide. Most of the published literature comprises nonanatomical and segmental resections with only few case series having major hepatic resections performed by minimally invasive approach. Aim of this article is to share our technique and experience of total laparoscopic major hepatectomy. METHODS: It is a retrospective analysis of prospectively maintained database of 56 patients, who underwent laparoscopic major hepatectomy for various indications during 2001 to 2013. RESULTS: Of 56 patients operated, 37 had malignant disease and 19 had benign lesions with mean size of 6.0 ± 2.8 cm. Thirty-four patients underwent right hepatectomy and 22 left with mean age of 54.8 ± 15.3 years. Mean operating time was 227.4 ± 51.8 min with mean blood loss 265.5 ± 143.4 ml and transfusion needed in 10.7 %. Pringle's maneuver was used in 19.6 % with mean occlusion time of 34.0 ± 11.4 min. Liver-specific complications were observed in 12.5 % and overall complications in 19.6 %. Mean resection margin length in malignant lesions was 2.1 ± 0.9 cm, with <1 cm margin noted in 5.4 %. Median hospital stay was 8 days (6-29) with readmission rate of 8.9 %, re-intervention rate of 5.3 % and 90 days mortality of 1.7 %. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic major liver resection is a formidable task. It requires considerable expertise in both, advanced laparoscopy, and liver surgery. It can be feasible, safe, and oncologically adequate in well-selected cases in experience hands.

Combined surgical procedures using laparoendoscopic single-site surgery approach.

INTRODUCTION: As our experience with laparoendoscopic single-site (LESS) surgeries increased, we considered how it might be employed if two or more surgeries were to be combined. LESS surgeries' cosmetic advantages, decreased parietal trauma and better patient satisfaction relative to standard multiport laparoscopy have been previously reported, but its special role in combined surgeries has never been stressed. In this series, we present the advantages of LESS procedure over multiport laparoscopy in combined surgical procedures. To the best of our knowledge, this has never been reported before. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 27 patients was performed. The patients underwent combined LESS procedures between February 2010 and January 2012 at GEM Hospital, Coimbatore, India. All patients were of ASA grade 1 or 2. Patients with previous surgery in the umbilical region were not offered single-incision surgery. RESULTS: We successfully performed 27 combined LESS procedures over a span of 2 years. Twenty patients were women and seven were men. Mean age was 35.94 years (range, 10-66 years). Mean BMI was 27.2. There were no major intraoperative complications. Mean blood loss was 45.7 mL (range, 0.0-120.0 mL). Mean postoperative hospital stay was 3.08 days (range, 1-5 days). CONCLUSION: When a suitable case of multiple pathologies is encountered and LESS surgery is feasible for all of them, performing LESS surgery not only has cosmetic advantages over standard laparoscopy, but it also avoids the need for additional ports to achieve adequate visualization and access. All quadrants of the abdomen remain under reach through umbilicus.