MINI-LAPAROSCOPIC CHOLECYSTECTOMY - A COSMETICALLY BETTER, ALMOST SCARLESS PROCEDURE

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the most common laparoscopic operation in the world and is accepted as the standard procedure for cholecyste ctomy. Although use of miniendoscope in diagnosis of gynecological dis ease has been performed for decades, using a 2-mm mini-laparoscope for cholecystectomy is new. From November 1996 to January 1997, 14 patien ts (6 men, 8 women; mean age 47 years) with gallbladder stone disease were treated by mini-laparoscopic cholecystectomy at National Taiwan U niversity Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. The entire procedure was done thro ugh four ports (an 11-mm subumbilical working port, a 2-mm subxiphoid video port, one 2-mm mid-clavicular retraction port, and one anterior axillary retraction port). The operative time for these patients range d from 30 to 150 min, with an average time of 79.29 min. Suturing was not necessary for the three 2-mm wounds. The estimated blood loss was minimal, and no intraoperative transfusions were required. All patient s were able to tolerate feeding within 8 h. The average postoperative hospital stay was 1.57 days. Neither complications nor operation-relat ed mortality were seen. In conclusion, mini-laparoscopic cholecystecto my is a feasible and safe procedure with nearly scarless wounds with a much better cosmetic effect, especially for young female patients.