laparoscopic colon surgery for benign disease: a comparison to open surgery

backgrounds and objectives: today we are witnessed a growing number of minimally invasive surgical techniques for different diseases. laparoscopic colon surgery as a minimally invasive surgery is currently growing in treatment of malignancies after proving his place in the treatment of benign diseases. we compare in this study results of laparoscopic colorectal surgery with open surgery. methods: 36 laparoscopic colon resections performed for benign disease were compared to 36 open colon resections with respect to operating times, length of hospital stay, estimated blood loss, days until first postoperative bowel movement, and complications.   results: the laparoscopic colon resection group had decreased length of stay, less blood loss, earlier return of bowel function, and an equivalent number of complication. duration of surgery was higher in the laparoscopic group.   conclusion: the use of laparoscopic colon surgery for benign disease not only affords the patient the advantage of the laparoscopic approach, but also allows the surgeon to gain experience for laparoscopic colon surgery in malignant disease.