Transumbilical surgical specimen retrieval: a viable refinement of laparoscopic surgery for pelvic masses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and surgical outcome of a policy of routine specimen retrieval through the umbilical port, avoiding the enlargement of ancillary port-site incisions. A total of 1116 women underwent laparoscopic surgery for the treatment of a pelvic mass with extraction of the specimen through the umbilical port site (a total of 1453 retrieval procedures). All retrieval procedures were successfully carried out with this technique. Neither intraoperative complication related to the retrieval procedure nor accidental rupture of the endoscopic bag occurred. There was an injury to the epigastric artery. Neither trocar-site hernias (both umbilical trocar insertion sites and extraumbilical sites) nor port-site metastases occurred.