title: Safety and efficacy of laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy for the treatment of pancreatic disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There are a few reports of laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy in the literature. We describe our experience with laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy and evaluate the safety and efficacy of the procedure in light of other reported findings.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective study was performed of all patients who underwent laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy between April 1996 and December 2002 at Oita University Faculty of Medicine.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy was attempted in seven patients (three men and four women) with a mean age of 65 years. One patient was converted to open surgery, and two patients required a hand-assistance procedure. There were no complications in any patients. Median operation time for all seven patients was 300 min, and median blood loss was 330 ml. Median postoperative hospital stay was 12 days (range, 7 to 21 days).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our limited results, together with reported outcomes, suggest that laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy is safe and effective for selected patients. The potential advantages of this procedure include reduced morbidity and reduced hospital stay.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Surgery, Oita University Faculty of Medicine, 1-1 Idaigaoka, Hasama-machi, Oita, 879-5593, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshifumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Seitaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hirano
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yada
authors.forename: Yoshihisa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Himeno
authors.forename: Kohei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aramaki
authors.forename: Katsunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawano
authors.forename: Seigo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kitano
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004322:Drainage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010180:Pancreatectomy / Q000379:methods*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome