Laparoscopy and colorectal surgery.

Laparoscopic colorectal surgery still requires evaluation. Technical proble ms remain, particularly in obese patients. Also, there is a learning curve during which patients are exposed to serious morbidity. In nonmalignant con ditions, the indications for laparoscopic colorectal surgery need to be det ermined based on studies of short- and long-term outcomes, benefits, and co st. In malignancies, the potential for disease-control problems such as inv olvement by the tumor of trocar orifices indicate that prospective studies should be limited to patients with small, well differentiated tumors that d o not involve the serous membrane.