Laparoscopy during pregnancy. A survey of laparoendoscopic surgeons.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to survey the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons (SLS) for their experience with laparoscopy during pregnancy and to develop a database on the safety and complications of laparoscopy in pregnancy.


METHODS
A survey questionnaire was mailed to 16,329 laparoscopic surgeons from the SLS mailing database. Seven questions were asked: number of laparoscopic procedures in pregnancy, type of operation, gestational age, intraoperative and postoperative complications, insufflation agent and insufflation pressure. Only surgeons who had performed laparoscopic procedures in pregnancy were asked to return surveys.


RESULTS
One hundred ninety-two (1.2%) surveys were returned. Complete information was available on 413 laparoscopic cases. There were five intraoperative complications, including inadvertent placement of a Veress needle into a pregnant uterus. There were 10 postoperative complications.


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first report to specifically address the safety and complications of laparoscopy in pregnancy. This study suggests that laparoscopy may be safe during pregnancy; however, it was limited by the biases of surveys and retrospective studies.
Reedy
M B
MB
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Scott & White Clinic, Texas A&M University Health Sciences Center, College Station 77840, USA.
Galan
H L
HL
Richards
W E
WE
Preece
C K
CK
Wetter
P A
PA
Kuehl
T J
TJ
D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000601:surgery*; D012449:Safety; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome