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Updated: Aug 7, 2026
Laparoscopic Anterior Right Hepatectomy: A Single-Center Experience
Published on: December 4, 2023
Hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery with a Pfannenstiel incision in beta-thalassemia patients: initial experience
Emmanuel Leandros1, Nicholas Alexakis, Konstadinos Albanopoulos
1First Department of Propedeutic Surgery, University of Athens, Hippokration Hospital, 114 V Sofias Avenue, Athens, 11527, Greece.
Introduction:
beta-Thalassemia patients have splenomegaly significant enough to require splenectomy; furthermore, these patients also often require concurrent procedures.
Methods:
Between January and October 2005, seven patients with beta-thalassemia underwent hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy with cholecystectomy, appendectomy, and liver biopsy with the hand-port device introduced through a Pfannenstiel incision.
Results:
The median age of the patients was 28 years, and the median spleen length was 23 cm. The median operating time was 210 minutes; there were no conversions to an open procedure; and the median spleen weight was 1072 g. One major postoperative complication occurred. The median hospital stay was 6 days.
Conclusions:
The proposed hand-assisted laparoscopic approach is safe and feasible. It provides a minimally invasive alternative that may become the treatment of choice in beta-thalassemia patients who require concurrent operations.
