title: Is laparoscopic colon surgery appropriate in patients who have had previous abdominal surgery?
abstract: Laparoscopic techniques in colon surgery reduce postoperative pain, length of hospital stay, and 30-day morbidity when compared with open surgery. The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of a laparoscopic colectomy in patients who have previously undergone abdominal surgery. We performed a retrospective, single-institution review of laparoscopic colorectal procedures for benign or malignant pathology between October 2002 and September 2008. Our analysis included 55 patients who previously had laparoscopic, open, or a combination of procedures and subsequently underwent laparoscopic colorectal surgery. We observed a 14.5 per cent conversion rate (n = 8). Of the patients who had previous open procedures (n = 48 [87.3%]), the conversion rate was 16.7 per cent. Only one patient (12.5%) who had a history of only laparoscopic surgery required conversion. The highest conversion rate in our study was from patients who underwent a left colectomy (60%, n = 3/5), which was the only statistically significant factor found for conversion. Since the emergence of laparoscopy, use in colon and rectal surgery nationwide has been poor as a result of multiple factors, including a frequent history of abdominal surgery. Our experience shows that laparoscopic colorectal surgery in patients with prior intra-abdominal surgery can be completed with an acceptable conversion rate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of California, Irvine, Orange, California 92868, USA. abarlebe@uci.edu
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barleben
authors.forename: Dhruvil
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gandhi
authors.forename: Xuan-Mai
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Fred
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Che
authors.forename: Ninh T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Stamos
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003082:Colectomy; D003108:Colonic Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D003125:Colostomy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007081:Ileostomy; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome