Laparoscopic intracavitary drainage of subphrenic abscess

Percutaneous drainage is now the preferred initial treatment of subphrenic abscess. The result is best for simple, unilocular abscesses but less so for complex ones. Failure of drainage can lead to high morbidity and mortality. We describe a case in which a large multiloculated subphrenic abscess was successfully drained laparoscopically without contaminating the general peritoneal cavity.