Laparoscopic common bile duct exploration to treat choledocholithiasis in situs inversus patients:A technical review

Situs inversus(SI)is a rare congenital condition characterized by a mirror-image transposition of the major visceral organs.Since the 1990s,more than one hundred SI patients have been reported to have successfully undergone laparoscopic cholecystectomy.In these cases,the major problem is to overcome is the left-right condition for right-handed surgeons.Laparoscopic common bile duct exploration(LCBDE),an alternative to treat patients with bile duct stones,has shown equivalent efficacy and is less likely to cause pancreatitis than endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.Recent updated meta-analyses revealed that a shorter postoperative hospital stay,fewer procedural interventions,cost-effectiveness,a higher stone clearance rate,and fewer perioperative complications are additional advantages of LCBDE.However,the technique is technically demanding,even for skilled laparoscopic surgeons.Conducting LCBDE in patients with difficult situations,such as SI,is more complex than usual.We herein review published SI patients with choledocholithiasis treated by LCBDE,including our own experience,and this paper focuses on the technical aspects.

Single-incision laparoscopic surgery for biliary tract disease

Single-incision laparoscopic surgery(SILS), or laparoendoscopic single-site surgery, has been employed in various fields to minimize traumatic effects over the last two decades. Single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy(SILC) has been the most frequently studied SILS to date. Hundreds of studies on SILC have failed to present conclusive results. Most randomized controlled trials(RCTs) have been small in scale and have been conducted under ideal operative conditions. The role of SILC in complicated scenarios remains uncertain. As common bile duct exploration(CBDE) methods have been used for more than one hundred years, laparoscopic CBDE(LCBDE) has emerged as an effective, demanding, and infrequent technique employed during the laparoscopic era. Likewise, laparoscopic biliary-enteric anastomosis is difficult to carry out, with only a few studies have been published on the approach. The application of SILS to CBDE and biliary-enteric anastomosis is extremely rare, and such innovative procedures are only carried out by a number of specialized groups across the globe. Herein we present a thorough and detailed analysis of SILC in terms of operative techniques, training and learning curves, safety and efficacy levels, recovery trends, and costs by reviewing RCTs conducted over the past three years and two recently updated meta-analyses. All existing literature on single-incision LCBDE and singleincision laparoscopic hepaticojejunostomy has been reviewed to describe these two demanding techniques.

Single-incision vs three-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy for complicated and uncomplicated acute cholecystitis

AIM:To compare the clinical outcome of single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy(SILC)and three-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy(3ILC)for acute cholecystitis.METHODS:From July 2009 to September 2012,136patients underwent SILC or 3ILC for acute cholecystitis at a tertiary referral hospital.One experienced surgeon performed every procedure using 5 or 10 mm 30-degree laparoscopes,straight instruments,and conventional ports.Five patients with perforated gallbladder and diffuse peritonitis and 23 patients with mild acute cholecystitis were excluded.The remaining 108 patients were divided into complicated and uncomplicated groups according to pathologic findings.Patient demography,clinical data,operative results and complications were recorded and analyzed.RESULTS:Fifty patients with gangrenous cholecystitis,gallbladder empyema,or hydrops were classified as the complicated group,and 58 patients with acute cholecystitis were classified as the uncomplicated group.Twenty-three(46.0%)of the patients in the complicated group(n=50)and 39(67.2%)of the patients in the uncomplicated group(n=58)underwent SILC;all others underwent 3ILC.The postoperative length of hospital stay(PLOS)was significantly shorter in the SILC subgroups than the 3ILC subgroups(3.5±1.1 d vs 4.6±1.3 d,P<0.01 in the complicated group;2.9±1.1 d vs 3.7±1.4 d,P<0.05 in the uncomplicated group).The maximum body temperature recorded at day 1 and at day 2 following the procedure was lower in the SILC subgroups,but the difference reached statistical significance only in the uncomplicated group(37.41±0.56℃vs 37.80±0.72℃,P<0.05 on postoperative day 1;37.10±0.43℃vs 37.57±0.54℃,P<0.01 on postoperative day 2).The operative time,estimated blood loss,postoperative narcotic use,total length of hospital stay,conversion rates,and complication rates were similar in both SILC and 3ILC subgroups.The complicated group had longer operative time(122.2±35.0 min vs 106.6±43.6 min,P<0.05),longer PLOS(4.1±1.3 d vs 3.2±1.2 d,P<0.001),and higher conversion rates(36.0%vs 19.0%,P<0.05)compared with the uncomplicated group.CONCLUSION:SILC is safe and efficacious for patients with acute cholecystitis.The main benefit is a faster recovery than that achieved with 3ILC.

Single-incision laparoscopic surgery to treat hepatopancreatobiliary cancer:A technical review

Single-incision laparoscopic surgery(SILS),or laparoendoscopic single-site surgery,was launched to minimize incisional traumatic effects in the 1990s.Minor SILS,such as cholecystectomies,have been gaining in popularity over the past few decades.Its application in complicated hepatopancreatobiliary(HPB)surgeries,however,has made slow progress due to instrumental and technical limitations,costs,and safety concerns.While minimally invasive abdominal surgery is pushing the boundaries,advanced laparoscopic HPB surgeries have been shown to be comparable to open operations in terms of patient and oncologic safety,including hepatectomies,distal pancreatectomies(DP),and pancreaticoduodenectomies(PD).In contrast,advanced SILS for HPB malignancy has only been reported in a few small case series.Most of the procedures involved minor liver resections and DP;major hepatectomies were rarely described.Singleincision laparoscopic PD has not yet been reported.We herein review the published SILS for HPB cancer in the literature and our three-year experience focusing on the technical aspects.