title: Minilaparotomy approach to colon cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Many studies have proved the feasibility and safety of a laparoscopic colectomy in comparison to a conventional laparotomy. However, a laparoscopic colectomy requires a minilaparotomy incision to perform the operative procedure. We have introduced a minilaparotomy technique which can perform all the operative procedures through incisions measuring from 3 to 7 cm in length.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective comparison of the outcome after a potentially curative resection of colon cancers via minilaparotomy (July 2000 to May 2002) and by conventional laparotomy (May 1997 to June 2000) is reported.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patient cohort consisted of 27 minilaparotomy cases and 24 conventional laparotomy cases. The patients' characteristics were similar in the two groups. The oncological clearance, in terms of the length of resected specimens, was similar in the two groups, whereas the number of lymph nodes removed was significantly higher in the minilaparotomy group. In addition, the mean operation time, blood loss, length of the laparotomy incision, postoperative time to walking, starting oral intake, and postoperative hospitalization were significantly smaller in the minilaparotomy group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our minilaparotomy approach maintained the same curative resection for colon cancers as a conventional laparotomy, but it was less invasive and allowed for an earlier recovery and hospital discharge than conventional laparotomy. The minilaparotomy approach is thus considered to be an attractive alternative to conventional colon surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Kikkoman General Hospital, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takegami
authors.forename: Yoneei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawaguchi
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakayama
authors.forename: Yoshiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nagawa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003082:Colectomy / Q000379:methods*; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D007813:Laparotomy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome