Single-port laparoscopic splenectomy for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura

Laparoscopic splenectomy has been performed with an average of 4 trocars since the early 1990s, and it has become the gold standard for elective splenectomy. Recently, single-port laparoscopic (SPL) surgery has emerged as an alternative to multiport laparoscopy, but SPL splenectomy in a patient with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) has not been reported to date in Saudi Arabia or the region. A case report of SPL splenectomy in a patient with ITP is briefly described along with the surgical technique needed for such a procedure. The patient was an otherwise healthy 24-year-old female woman with medically refractory ITP and a platelet count of 2200. A standard splenectomy was performed using a SPL technique. The patient did well intraoperatively and postoperatively, was happy with her incision, and was discharged home with no complications 3 days after the procedure. In conclusion, SPL splenectomy is feasible in select patients and may provide a less painful, cosmetically better alternative.