Hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy in patients with splenomegaly or prior upper abdominal operation.
BACKGROUND
Laparoscopic splenectomy (LS) in patients with significant splenomegaly or prior upper abdominal operation is technically challenging with a high conversion rate to open operation. We hypothesized that hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy (HLS) in this setting would improve operative (OR) outcomes without impacting post-OR ileus, length of stay, morbidity, or mortality, compared with LS.


METHODS
All patients with splenomegaly (spleen weight > or = 500 g) or prior upper abdominal operation undergoing LS or HLS between March 1996 and June 2001 were reviewed. Nonparametric continuous variables were expressed as median and intraquartile range with statistical significance determined by Wilcoxon rank sum test.


RESULTS
Of 41 patients reviewed, 22 underwent HLS, whereas 19 underwent LS. Median OR time for HLS was significantly less than for LS (161 minutes vs 212 minutes, P =.004). HLS was associated with a lower conversion rate (13.6% vs 36.8%, P =.08) and blood loss (325 mL vs 550 mL, P =.18) than LS, which approached statistical significance. HLS did not increase post-OR ileus, length of stay, morbidity, or mortality.


CONCLUSIONS
HLS in patients with significant splenomegaly or prior upper abdominal operation significantly shortens OR time compared with LS without adversely impacting post-OR ileus, length of stay, morbidity, or mortality. In addition, HLS may be associated with a lower conversion rate and decreased blood loss.
Ailawadi
Gorav
G
Section of General Surgery, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, USA.
Yahanda
Alan
A
Dimick
Justin B
JB
Bedi
Asheesh
A
Mulholland
Michael W
MW
Colletti
Lisa
L
Sweeney
John F
JF
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D012086:Reoperation; D013156:Splenectomy / Q000379:methods*; D013163:Splenomegaly / Q000601:surgery*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016896:Treatment Outcome