EFFECT OF PNEUMOPERITONEUM INDUCED BY CARBON-DIOXIDE AND AIR ON TUMORLOAD IN A RAT MODEL

Laparoscopic surgery for malignant disease is highly controversial mai nly due to the large number of abdominal wall metastases being reporte d. Previous experimental studies have particularly studied CO2 pneumop eritoneum and its effect on tumor development, The purpose of this stu dy was to compare CO2- and air-induced pneumoperitoneum with regard to intraperitoneal tumor growth. Altogether 39 rats were injected intrap eritoneally with 10(5) colonic tumor cells and randomly allocated into three groups: 13 rats had a pneumoperitoneum created with CO2, 13 wit h air, and 13 served as controls. Tumor development was determined sem iquantitatively by a peritoneal cancer index scale after 12 days. CO2 and air pneumoperitoneum equally increased intraperitoneal tumor growt h compared to controls. Pneumoperitoneum induced by CO2 and air seems to increase tumor load, but the mechanisms are not established, This f inding supports the hypothesis that insufflation not only by causing t umor cell movements but in fact pneumoperitoneum per se and the used g as are involved in the development of abdominal wall metastases after laparoscopic surgery.