Is the laparoscopic approach reasonable in cases of splenomegaly?

Current concepts of laparoscopic splenectomy in elective patients

Formerly, open splenectomy represented the conventional surgical treatment for many hematologic diseases. Currently, thanks to permanent technical development and improved skills, also laparoscopic splenectomy (LS) has become a recognized procedure in the treatment of spleen diseases, even in case of splenomegaly. A systematic review was performed with the aim of recalling the proved concepts of this surgical treatment and to browse new devices and techniques and their impact on the surgical outcome. The literature search was initially conducted in PubMed by entering general queries related to LS. The record identified through PubMed searching (n = 1599) was then screened by applying several criteria (study published in English from 1991 to 2013 with abstract available, by excluding systematic/non-systematic reviews, meta-analysis, practice guidelines, case reports, and study involving animals). The articles assessed for eligibility (n = 160) were primarily evaluated by excluding studies that did not report operative time and conversion to open surgery. For articles that treated multiport LS we included only clinical trials with patients > 20. The studies included in qualitative synthesis were 23. The search strategy carried out in PubMed does not allow to obtain an overview of the items returned by the main queries. With this aim we replicated the search in the Web of Science^TM database, only including the studies published in English in the period 1991-2013 with no other filter/selection criteria. The full records (n = 1141) and cited references returned by Web of Science^TM were analyzed with the visualization of similarities (VOS) mapping technique. Maps of title/abstract text corpus and bibliographic coupling of authors obtained by applying the VOS approach were presented. If in normal-size or moderately enlarged spleens the laparoscopic approach is unquestionable, in massive splenomegaly the optimal technique remain to be determined. In this setting, prospective randomized trials to compare open vs LS are needed. Between the new techniques of LS the robotic single port splenectomy has the ability to join all the positive aspects of both techniques. Data about this topic are too initial and need to be confirmed with further studies.

Minimally invasive splenectomy: an update and review

Laparoscopic splenectomy (LS) has become an established standard of care in the management of surgical diseases of the spleen. The present article is an update and review of current procedures and controversies regarding minimally invasive splenectomy. We review the indications and contraindications for LS as well as preoperative considerations. An individual assessment of the procedures and outcomes of multiport laparoscopic splenectomy, hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy, robotic splenectomy, natural orifice transluminal endoscopic splenectomy and single-port splenectomy is included. Furthermore, this review examines postoperative considerations after LS, including the postoperative course of uncomplicated patients, postoperative portal vein thrombosis, infections and malignancy.

Morbidity of hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy compared to conventional laparoscopic splenectomy: a 6-year review

BACKGROUND

Laparoscopic splenectomy (LS) has several advantages over the open procedure but can be technically demanding when performed in patients with massive splenomegaly. We hypothesized that patients who undergo hand-assisted LS (HALS) may experience the benefits of LS while having their enlarged spleens removed safely.

METHODS

We reviewed the charts of patients who underwent HALS or LS between January 2003 and June 2008. Evaluated parameters included intraoperative and early postoperative morbidity and mortality, conversion to open surgery, need for blood transfusion, length of postoperative hospital stay, patient demographics, diagnosis leading to splenectomy, splenic weight and number of postoperative days to resuming normal diet. Differences were analyzed while controlling for splenic weight and malignant diagnosis using multiple linear and logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

In all, 103 patients underwent splenectomy (23 HALS, 80 LS). Patients who had HALS were older and had larger spleens, and a greater proportion had malignant diagnoses. We observed no significant differences in morbidity, conversion to open surgery or need for blood transfusion. The mean length of postoperative stay, duration of surgery and days to resuming full diet were longer in the HALS group. No patients died. No group differences were significant after controlling for splenic weight and malignant diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

The morbidity associated with HALS is comparable to that with LS. The longer duration of surgery and hospital stay for HALS patients was likely related to greater splenic weight, older age and greater proportion of malignant diagnoses. Hand-assisted LS is a viable alternative to open surgery in patients with massive spleens.

Comparison between single and three portal laparoscopic splenectomy in dogs

Background

Single incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) is a newly growing technique to replace a more invasive conventional multiple portal laparoscopic surgery. The objective of this study was to compare single (SILS) with three portal (Conventional) laparoscopic splenectomy in dogs. Mongrel dogs (n = 18), weighting 15 ± 3 kg, were selected for this study (n = 12 SILS; n = 6 conventional). The area from xiphoid to pubis was prepared under aseptic conditions in dorsal recumbency with the head down and tilted 30 degree in the right lateral position. Pneumoperitoneum was established by CO₂ using an automatic high flow pressure until achieving 12 mm Hg. Instrumentation used consisted of curved flexible-tip 5 mm Maryland forceps and ultracision harmonic scalpel for sealing and cutting of the vessels and splenic attachments.

Results

All dogs recovered uneventfully. The splenectomy procedure using SILS and conventional methods were significantly different in the respective operative time (29.1 ± 1.65 vs. 42.0 + 2.69 min) and the length of the surgical scar (51.6 ± 1.34 mm vs. 72.0 ± 1.63 mm; P < 0.001). There were no post-operative wound complication including inflammation, infection, hernia formation and dehiscence up to one month after surgery. Meanwhile, the conversion to open surgery or application of additional portals was not required in both approaches.

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that SILS is a safe and feasible operation and could be used as an alternative approach to three portal (Conventional) for splenectomy in dog.

Prospective randomized comparison of clinical results between hand-assisted laparoscopic and open splenectomies

BACKGROUND

Although some studies have compared laparoscopic and hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy (HALS) in splenomegaly cases, no study has analyzed the differences between HALS and open splenectomy (OS). This study aimed to compare the HALS and OS techniques in splenomegaly cases.

METHODS

This prospective study included 27 patients undergoing splenectomy for splenic disorders at the Department of General Surgery, Istanbul Medical Faculty between February and October 2007. Open splenectomy was performed for 14 patients and HALS for the remaining 13 patients.

RESULTS

The end points compared included incision length, operative time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drain output and duration, postoperative pain scores, length of postoperative hospitalization, and perioperative complications. The authors found benefits of HALS over OS for incision length, postoperative pain score, postoperative drain output and duration, and hospital stay. The main advantages of the HALS technique over OS were less postoperative pain (p = 0.0002), shorter hospital stay (p = 0.004), and shorter abdominal incision (p = 0.012).

CONCLUSIONS

For splenomegaly, HALS significantly facilitates the surgical procedure and reduces the hospital stay while maintaining the advantages of OS such as tactile sense as well as easy and atraumatic manipulation of enlarged spleens.

Laparoscopic splenectomy for hematologic diseases: a preliminary analysis performed on the Italian Registry of Laparoscopic Surgery of the Spleen (IRLSS)

BACKGROUND

The Italian Registry of Laparoscopic Surgery of the Spleen (IRLSS) was developed to provide at the national level an informative tool useful for performing multicenter studies in the field of spleen laparoscopic surgery. In this first study analyzing the IRLSS data, a cohort of patients with hematologic diseases was retrospectively investigated for potential predictive parameters that could affect the outcome of laparoscopic splenectomy.

METHODS

A total of 309 patients who underwent laparoscopic splenectomy for hematologic diseases in 17 Italian centers (between February 1, 1993, and September 30, 2004) were entered in the IRLSS. Their records were analyzed retrospectively by the Student's t-test, chi-square, and logistic regression.

RESULTS

The mean operative time was 141 min (range, 30-420 min). Conversion was necessary in 21 cases (7%), and approximately 1 accessory spleen in 25 patients (9%) was found. The mean spleen weight was 1191 g (range, 85-4,500 g). Perioperative death occurred in two cases (0.6%). No complications were experienced by 253 patients (81.9%), who had a mean hospital stay of 5.4 days (range, 2-30 days). Overall morbidity occurred in 56 patients (18.1%), mainly associated with transient fever (n = 22), pleural effusion (n = 13), and actual or suspected hemorrhage (n = 12), requiring a reintervention for 7 patients. Multivariate analysis found that body mass index (p = 0.024) and clinical indication (p = 0.004) were independent predictors for surgical conversion. The clinical indication was almost significant as an independent predictor for the occurrence of postoperative complication (p = 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

This first study analyzing the IRLSS data shows that laparoscopic splenectomy may represent the gold standard treatment for hematologic diseases with normal-size spleen. The low morbidity and mortality rate suggests that laparoscopic splenectomy can be successfully proposed also for splenomegaly in hematologic malignancies.