Open port placement of the first laparoscopic port: a safe technique

Blind insertion of the Veress needle and of the first trocar is a significant cause of complications in laparoscopic surgery. Despite this risk, the closed technique is still more popular than the open one. Our aim is to report the results of our experience with the routine use of the modified open technique in laparoscopic surgery and to describe the technical details of the creation of pnuemoperitoneum by the open technique that we used.

A prospective study was conducted in the department of surgery at Maulana Azad Medical College and associated Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi. A modified method of open laparoscopy was performed on 755 consecutive patients requiring laparoscopy or laparoscopic surgery over a 5-year period from August 1998 to February 2003 in 1 surgical unit.

The mean time taken was 4 minutes (range, 2 to 10). No intraoperative complications occurred during trocar insertion. Forty-nine (6.49%) patients had minor umbilical sepsis, 22 (2.91%) had periumbilical hematoma, but none had umbilical hernia during 3 months of follow-up after surgery.

Based on our own experience, we recommend open laparoscopy as a safe and easy approach for routine laparoscopic interventions.