title: Selected applications of balloon dissection.
abstract: Historically, balloons have been used in surgery for a variety of applications. Over the past decades, balloons have been used by surgeons for retaining means (Foley catheter), extraction and occlusion (Fogarty catheter), tamponade (Sengstaken-Blakemore tube) as well as other uses such as dilation and calibration. The pioneering efforts of Gauer and Kieturakis have broadened the use of balloons for a new surgical application - dissection. An important feature of balloon dissection is that it allows the surgeon to create a new operative working space in which a surgical procedure can be performed. Currently, a particularly useful working space is the region immediately outside the peritoneum, frequently termed the extraperitoneal space. A variety of procedures can be performed laparoscopically in the extraperitoneal space such as herniorrhaphy, bladder neck suspension, lymph node dissection, and varicocelectomy.
authors.affiliation: Professor of Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Fogarty
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: R de L
authors.initials: Rde L
authors.lastname: Torre
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Denes
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Hermann