Laparoscopic surgery and surgical infection

Introduction: It has been observed that the metabolic response to surgical injury is less after laparoscopic surgery than after open surgery. However, the effect of laparoscopic surgery on surgical infection has not been give n much attention in the surgical literature, even though it may decrease th e incidence of infectious complications, The objective of this study was to assess the influence that laparoscopic surgery has on surgical infection a nd to highlight certain controversial aspects. Methods: A review of the literature was undertaken to examine the relations hip between laparoscopic surgery and surgical infection. This was achieved primarily by using PubMed Medline as a source of material. Results and conclusion: Laparoscopic surgery is associated with better pres ervation of the immune system than open surgery. This results in a decrease d incidence of infectious complications. Although carbon dioxide pneumoperi toneum affects the peritoneal response to injury, it seems to have no harmf ul effect in terms of intra-abdominal infection. Nevertheless, at laparosco pic operation the virulence of intestinal micro-organisms should be recogni zed and, while knowing the advantages of minimally invasive surgery, the su rgeon should consider the complexity of this technique. Furthermore, mainte nance of laparoscopic instruments should be governed by the same norms as t hose used in open surgery; recommendations offered by the manufacturers sho uld be respected.