Laparoscopic surgery has generated a revolution in operative medicine during the past few decades. Although strongly criticized during its early years, minimization of surgical trauma and the benefits of minimization to the patient have been brought to our attention through the efforts and vision of a few pioneers in the recent history of medicine. The German gynecologist Kurt Semm (1927-2003) ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The aim of this report is to document the feasibility and safety of umbilical single-incision laparoscopic liver cyst unroofing in the treatment of simple hepatic cysts in a retrospective case-control study. We also introduce some operative skills for single-incision laparoscopic surgery. METHODS From May 2009 to July 2011, 15 patients underwent umbilical single-inci...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Within the past few years, there has been a push for an even more minimally invasive approach to biliary disease with the adoption of single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy. We sought to compare 4 individual surgeon experiences to define whether there exists a learning curve for performing single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy. METHODS We performed a ret...

BACKGROUND Although laparoscopic appendectomy is widely practiced in developed countries, still there are many questions regarding the advantages and disadvantages of this approach in the treatment of acute appendicitis. Several controlled trials have been conducted, some in favor of laparoscopic appendectomy others not. The aim of this study was to evaluate laparoscopic appendectomy in compari...

BACKGROUND The results of a prospective consecutive series of single-incision laparoscopic right hemicolectomy procedures are presented. METHODS Right colonic resections were performed by a single-incision laparoscopic technique between February and December 2009. Surgical outcomes were recorded in a prospective database. RESULTS Twenty-two consecutive procedures were completed by single-in...