Laparoscopy in Liver Transplantation: The Future has Arrived.

Laparoscopy in Liver Transplantation: The Future has Arrived. HPB Surg. 2012;2012:148387 Authors: Lai Q, Pinheiro RS, Levi Sandri GB, Spoletini G, Melandro F, Guglielmo N, Di Laudo M, Frattaroli FM, Berloco PB, Rossi M Abstract In the last two decades, laparoscopy has revolutionized the field of surgery. Many procedures previously performed with an open access are now routinely carried out with the laparoscopic approach. Several advantages are associated with laparoscopic surgery compared to open procedures: reduced pain due to smaller incisions and hemorrhaging, shorter hospital length of stay, and a lower incidence of wound infections. Liver transplantation (LT) brought a radical change in life expectancy of patients with hepatic end-stage disease. Today, LT represents the standard of care for more than fifty hepatic pathologies, with excellent results in terms of survival. Surely, with laparoscopy and LT being one of the most continuously evolving challenges in medicine, their recent combination has represented an astonishing scientific progress. The intent of the present paper is to underline the current role of diagnostic and therapeutic laparoscopy in patients waiting for LT, in the living donor LT and in LT recipients. PMID: 22919121 [PubMed]
Source: HPB Surgery - Category: Surgery Tags: HPB Surg Source Type: research