title: Laparoscopy-guided drainage of hepatic abscess.
abstract: Hepatic abscess is a serious surgical condition with a mortality rate of up to 63% reported if not adequately treated. Laparotomy and computed tomographic (CT) guidance have been used to drain these collections, each with their own problems. Herein we describe a method of draining laparoscopically a hepatic abscess. A 45-year-old Haitian man presented with night sweats and fevers to 103 degrees F; he was diagnosed by CT to have a large (7 cm) abscess in the posterosuperior portion of the right hepatic lobe. The CT-guided drainage yielded only 8 cc fluid. The patient underwent laparoscopy-guided drainage of the abscess with placement of intra-hepatic and perihepatic drains. The patient had dramatic clinical improvement with no morbidity from the procedure. A follow-up CT of the abdomen revealed near-complete disappearance of the abscess cavity within 48 h. A straightforward method of laparoscopic drainage of hepatic abscesses is presented in detail. It provides a simple alternative for drainage with excellent results and minimal morbidity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, New Jersey 07740.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cappuccino
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Campanile
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Knecht
mesh_terms: D004322:Drainage / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008100:Liver Abscess / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed