Inside look at laparoscopic colectomy

Laparoscopic colectomy has developed into a viable alternative to colon surgery. This paper presents an overview of the development and current status of laparoscopic surgery of the colon with a brief review of the evidence of efficacy of laparoscopic surgery in cancer management. The experience with laparoscopic surgery of the colon at a tertiary hospital in Puerto Rico is discussed with review of 142 consecutive cases treated for diverticulosis, cancer or polyps performed from 2005-2010. Data on operative time, technical issues, need for transfusions, specimen size, number of lymph nodes is presented. Data on time to start diet and length of hospital stay are discussed. Surgical complications in the series are discussed in detail and recommendations made on avoidance of technical problems during laparoscopic colon surgery. Recommendations are made on the development and advancement of laparoscopic colonic surgery in Puerto Rico.