Laparoscopic Spleen Surgery: Baia Mare County Emergency Hospital Experience, Romania.

BACKGROUND Spleen surgery is a surgery without anastomosis and without the modification of the body's physiological circuits; therefore, the difference in the size of the incision between the laparoscopic and the open approach determines the main advantages of the laparoscopic surgery: small amounts of painkillers, reduced postoperative complication rate, low duration of hospitalization and reduced intra- and postoperative blood transfusion requirements. METHODS Data from the medical records of 4 patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery were retrospectively analyzed. They underwent surgery for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, splenic cyst and abscess. RESULTS Mean age of patients was 56 years old, postoperative hospital stay was 4 days in all cases, the surgery lasted 150 minutes on average and a single unit of blood was given after surgery. CONCLUSIONS Laparoscopic spleen surgery is achievable and safe in the initial experience of the Baia Mare County Emergency Hospital, Romania; it enables a rapid postoperative recovery of the patients and the preservation of the spleen in diseases only partially affecting the splenic parenchyma.