Background/Aims: Our aim was to review the results of one trocar stagi
ng laparoscopies performed under Local anesthesia in outpatients with
intra-abdominal cancer. Materials and Methods: Two hundred fifteen pat
ients with intra-abdominal cancer (predominantly esophagogastric and p
ancreatohepatobiliary) underwent one trocar staging laparoscopy on lid
ocain infiltration anesthesia under conscious sedation. lit 43 patient
s computed tomography (CT) or ultrasonography (US) had raised a suspic
ion of hepatic metastases, but percutaneous needle biopsy had failed t
o confirm it; 172 patients had negative CT or US. Peritoneum and liver
were examined and biopsies mere taken under direct laparoscopic contr
ol. Results: Fourteen patients (7%) received narcotics during the 2-6
hour observation. Mortality was zero. Complications occurred in. 5 pat
ients (2%): 1 small bowel perforation (operated), 1 bleeding from the
abdominal wall, I acute atrial fibrillation, and 2 wound infections. I
n 79 patients histology demonstrated hepatic or peritoneal metastases.
Out of 136 patients 123 were operated in whom laparoscopy did not dem
onstrate metastases. Thirty-eight of these were unresectable at laparo
tomy: Five patients (4%) had peritoneal or liver metastases and 33 (27
%) proved locally inoperable. The sensitivity of laparoscopy to ascert
ain peritoneal or Liver metastases was 94%. Conclusions: We conclude t
hat one trocar local anesthesia outpatient laparoscopy is a fairly saf
e and effective method to detect peritoneal and liver metastases in ab
dominal cancer.