Abstract
Splenic surgery, open or laparoscopic, can be associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Initially it was unclear if laparoscopic splenic surgery could be performed safely and effectively. It was feared that the exposure would be too difficult, that accessory spleens would be missed, and that the risk of uncontrollable hemorrhage was too great. There was concern that laparoscopic instruments would fracture the spleen leading to splenosis and failed surgical therapy in idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura. Furthermore, the technical difficulties of exposing the hilum of large spleens or dividing the adhesion between the spleen and the diaphragm created by splenic infarcts seemed too great. This review of complications of laparoscopic splenectomy will address these issues and will present the complication data derived from an analysis of our personal experience and publications on laparoscopic splenectomy.
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