Effectiveness of a surgical glove port for single port surgery

A new surgical concept, such as single port surgery (SPS), usually raises many questions regarding safety, usefulness, appropriateness, applicability, and cost. Because many new port devices have been developed, choosing the type of port device for SPS is the most important factor. We herein briefly report our newly developed SPS port made using a standard surgical glove.

SPS starts with a 1.5-cm skin incision on the umbilicus. Subsequently, a wound retractor of XS size is installed at the umbilical wound. Then, a non-powdered surgical glove (5.5 inches) is put on the wound retractor through which three 5-mm slim trocars are inserted via the finger tips. A semi-flexible laparoscopic camera is inserted via the middle finger port. From June to December 2009, 23 cases of SPS (20 cholecystectomies, 1 choledocholithotomy, 1 appendectomy, and 1 gastropexy) were performed in our institute using this technique.

All cases were successfully performed without any intra- or postoperative complications. No conversion to other procedures was needed. The median operative time for cholecystectomy was 110 (range, 55-170) min.

This surgical-glove port is easy to install and is made from conventional, commonly used surgical equipment, making it unnecessary to purchase any expensive new devices. This surgical-glove port technique is a promising method to introduce SPS, because developing or purchasing new devices is unnecessary. Our experience demonstrates the efficacy, appropriateness, and cost-effectiveness of this simple port technique.