Needlescopic or minisite cholecystectomy

Needlescopic or minisite cholecystectomy is laparoscopic cholecystectomy do ne through tiny ports from 1.4 mm to 3 mm in size. This refinement of conve ntional laparoscopic cholecystectomy reduces further the invasiveness of th e operation and gives an improved cosmetic effect. This series describes th e result of 36 needlescopic cholecystectomies done between February 1996 an d April 1997. Patients with acute cholecystitis were excluded. There were t wo conversions to conventional laparoscopic surgery and no conversions to o pen surgery. Thirty-four patients were successfully treated by this techniq ue. Analgesic consumption and cosmetic result was superior compared to a pr evious published series of conventionally done cases in the same department .