Sils without Frills

Historically, invasive, large incisions were necessary to perform "open" abdominal surgical procedures. While effective, this method increased the possibility of multiple complications, including post-operative pain, wound infection, incisional hernia and prolonged hospitalization. Concerns over the rate of complications and morbidities led surgeons to develop laparoscopic surgical techniques, in which operations in the abdomen are performed through small incisions as opposed to larger, open incisions across the surgical site. There was a continuous effort to minimize the number of ports, and finally single incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) came into practice. Sils without frills is a concept where multiple ports are made in a curved 2.5 cm incision in a triangle. The chopstick method is used to minimize instrument and telescope clash during the procedure. Standard laparoscopic instruments are introduced along with a 30 ° telescope. Instrument clashes are avoided by chop stick technique of crossing them at a proximal point so that ends are away from each other. Dissection takes place in forward backward movement after making lateral retraction by the other instrument. With experience the operative time is expected to become comparable with conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy. But benefits regarding post operative pain in SILS has not been confirmed. It is felt that expertise and reduction of operative time may reduce post operative pain. No special telescopes, ports or hand instruments are needed for this procedure but may have a role in advanced laparoscopic procedures.