Does number of ports affect outcomes in patients undergoing laparoscopic pyloromyotomy? Retrospective chart-review...

Background. Although open Ramstedt's pyloromyotomy is the gold standard for the surgical management of infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, laparoscopic pyloromyotomy has been found highly successful. Various factors, however, can affect the outcomes of surgical interventions in these patients. We observed a relationship between the number of ports used and outcome in patients undergoing laparoscopic pyloromyotomies. Methods. We retrospectively assessed the medical records of selected group of patients who underwent laparoscopic pyloromyotomy in our institution. Factors analyzed included operation time, length of hospital stay, postoperative complications, and time to postoperative full feeding. Results. We observed failure of myotomy in both two patients who underwent laparoscopic pyloromyotomy using only two working ports compared to successful myotomies in the remaining patients. Conclusion. Laparoscopy provides good results in terms of intraoperative exposure and cosmesis. However, standardized surgical technique with two working ports is advisable, and this can trigger further research to be ascertained.