[Laparoscopic assessment of the operability of pancreatic cancer]

Results are reported of laparoscopic examination of 78 patients with pancreatic cancer. The methods used were laparoscopic inspection and palpation of the pancreas, laparoscopic biopsy by mono- and bipuncture method, laparoscopic inspection and palpation of the organs of bursa omentalis. As a result of these investigations, dissemination outside the pancreas was established in 57 patients (73.1 per cent) in the outpatient services, before entering hospital. The other 21 patients (26.9 per cent) were subjected to radical or palliative surgical interventions. The importance of laparoscopy for evaluation of the operability and for selection of patients, entering surgical clinics, is emphasized.