[Laparoscopic excision of huge spleen in a 5-year-old boy with hypersplenism]

Minimally invasive surgery has been recently gaining acceptance as an alternative to "open" surgery. The benefits of video-surgery consist of minor surgical trauma of tissues, shorter hospital stay, quicker return to full activity and better cosmetic effect compared to traditional splenectomy. Less peritoneal adhesions after laparoscopic splenectomy decreases also the risk of strangulation ileus in the future. Authors present laparoscopic splenectomy in 5 year-old boy with hypersplenism. Technical details, intraoperative difficulties, immediate and late outcome were described. The early results, advantages and disadvantages were also discussed.