title: Single-port access: a feasible alternative to conventional laparoscopic splenectomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The laparoscopic approach has become the gold standard for splenectomy despite the fact that the spleen is a solid organ located deep in the splenic fossa. There is currently a trend to reduce the invasiveness of minimally invasive procedures. Transabdominal or transumbilical single-incision laparoscopic (SILS) approaches are an alternative to natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery techniques, but no reports of their use have yet been published in relation to the spleen.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe the SILS technique for splenectomy in 2 patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two patients were approached by SILS, a 26-year-old male diagnosed of autoimmune thrombocytopenia and a 45-year-old male with recurrent Hodgkin disease. In both cases 3 trocars (1 of 12 mm and 2 of 5 mm) were inserted through the umbilicus in one and in a left subcostal in the other, and a curved transanal endoscopic microsurgery instrument, a flexible-tip 10-mm scope, and the UltraCision were introduced. Visualization of the spleen and standard dissection of attachments were feasible, and splenectomy was completed using transumbilicus stapling of the splenic hilum. The spleen was extracted through the umbilical incision, intact in one case and after morcellation in the other.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The postoperative course was uneventful. Both patients had minimal postoperative pain and scarring and were discharged on the second postoperative day.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SILS access can be safely used for operative visualization, hilum transection, and spleen removal with conventional instrumentation, reducing parietal wall trauma to a minimum. The clinical, esthetic, and functional advantages require further analysis.
authors.affiliation: Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain. 13882ets@comb.cat
authors.forename: Eduardo M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Targarona
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Balague
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: Lluis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pallares
authors.forename: Laia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Estalella
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trias
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013154:Spleen / Q000601:surgery*; D013156:Splenectomy / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome