[The suprahepatic approach. An easy laparoscopic access to the hiatus in obese patients]

The conventional laparoscopic access to the gastroesophageal junction involves the retraction the left hepatic lobe upward. This approach could be particularly difficult in obese patients because of a huge fatty liver. The technique described here aims to overcome this difficulty be using a suprahepatic route by displacing the left lobe downward after dividing the left triangular ligament. This approach allows a good exposure of the gastroesophageal junction to perform a fundoplication or a gastric banding.