Frontiers in laparoscopy: economic issues and future perspectives

A little over 5 years ago, laparoscopy was introduced into the field of urology via the pioneering work of William Schuessler, and later Howard Winfield, in the realm of laparoscopic pelvic lymph node dissection. Since then, much has happened in this area and in reconstructive laparoscopic surgery. For urologists pursuing laparoscopic training, lymph node dissection remains the primary setting in which to learn the technique. In the first part of this roundtable, our panelists discussed applications of laparoscopy. Here, they examine economic issues related to the technology and give us a glimpse of what the future holds.