title: The advantages of hand-assisted laparoscopy.
abstract: The technical challenges of performing laparoscopic renal surgery require fellowship training and are associated with a steep learning curve. For the established urologist in practice, fellowship training is not a reality. As a result of these obstacles, in the late 1990s, laparoscopic renal surgery was entering the domain of the general surgeons who had a large number of laparoscopic procedures at their disposal to develop laparoscopic skills. Hand-assisted laparoscopic renal surgery is a hybrid procedure combining the most salient features of open renal surgery and laparoscopic renal surgery. By allowing the surgeons to place their non-dominant hand into the abdominal cavity, palpation and spatial orientation became possible, lessening the learning curve for laparoscopic surgery. Moreover, hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery could be applied to a variety of renal surgeries, extirpative and reconstructive, with results similar to those already achieved by standard laparoscopy. Throughout the past 5 years, hand-assisted laparoscopy has allowed urologists to incorporate laparoscopic renal surgery into their practices to the benefit of their patients and of their specialty. This review article offers a historical review of the development of hand-assisted laparoscopy and describes the procedures commonly performed today using this technique.
authors.affiliation: New York Urological Associates, 880 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA.
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Munver
authors.forename: Joseph J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Del Pizzo
authors.forename: R Ernest
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Sosa
mesh_terms: D015653:Cystectomy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D009392:Nephrectomy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014551:Urinary Tract / Q000601:surgery*