Laparoscopic splenectomy: perioperative management, surgical technique, and results

Since their introduction in the early 1990s, minimally invasive techniques have gained widespread acceptance because of the significant benefits that patients are able to experience. Some of these benefits include reduced postoperative pain, earlier return to normal activity, and improved cosmesis when compared with open surgery. For these reasons, since its first description by Delaitre and Maignien in 1991, laparoscopic splenectomy (LS) has been increasingly utilized for a safe surgical removal of the spleen with nearly equivalent or superior short- and long-term outcomes when compared with the open approach. In this technical report, we aim to describe our preoperative and postoperative management of patients undergoing LS and to illustrate our preferred surgical technique, its rationale, and our results.