title: Laparoscopic excision of retroperitoneal tumors: report of three cases.
abstract: Retroperitoneal neural tumors are rarely excised laparoscopically, with fewer than ten cases reported in the literature. Between February 2005 and December 2007, we performed successful planned laparoscopic excision of retroperitoneal tumors using the four-trocar technique in three patients. All three patients were women, with a mean age of 40.7 years. The mean tumor size was 4.8 cm. The mean operative time was 126 min and the mean blood loss 14.3 ml. The postoperative pathological diagnosis was schwannoma in one patient and ganglioneuromas in two. There was no morbidity or mortality. Although difficult to diagnose preoperatively, neural tumors in the retroperitoneal space are most often benign, with a good prognosis. Laparoscopic surgical techniques for retroperitoneal tumors are safe, and their use is encouraged when an appropriate diagnosis is made, after exclusion of malignant subtypes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Iwate Medical University School of Medicine, 19-1 Uchimaru, Morioka, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suto
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nitta
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Shimooki
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Obuchi
authors.forename: Go
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wakabayashi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005729:Ganglioneuroma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D012186:Retroperitoneal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult