Introduction: Conventional operative techniques are gradually being replaced by minimally invasive surgical methods in the surgery of the spleen. We summarized our 10-year-experience after the introduction of laparoscopic splenectomy at the University of Szeged, Department of Surgery, comparing open and minimally invasive techniques.
Material and method: Between 1st January 2002 and 1st December 2011 we performed 141 splenectomies of which 17 were acute operations. Of the 124 elective procedures 54 were laparoscopic and 70 open operations. In 40 cases (open procedures) splenectomy was part of multivisceral surgery which were excluded from the analysis. In this retrospective analysis a comparison of laparoscopic and open elective technique was carried out.
Results: Average operating time of laparoscopic procedures was slightly longer than that of open technique (133 vs. 122 minutes, p = 0.074). After the learning period, duration of laparoscopic procedures became shorter (first five years: 147 min., second five years: 118 min, p = 0.003), larger spleens were removed (220 vs. 450 grams, p = 0.063) and conversion rate became lower. In cases of laparoscopic procedures fewer reoperations needed to be performed (1.5% vs. 6%, p = 0.718), bowel motility recovered earlier (2 vs. 3 days, p = 0.002) and hospital stay was shorter (5 vs. 8 days, p ≤ 0.001).
Conclusion: Our study proves that laparoscopic splenectomy is a safe method with many advantages. Our results correlate with data of international publications.