ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: For exact diagnosis and treatment, exploratory laparotomy is usually needed. The aim of this study was to verify the usefulness of single incision laparoscopic surgery for small bowel resection. METHODS: Five patients who underwent single incision laparoscopic surgery for small bowel tumor at our hospital from April 2010 to September 2011 were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: There were three m ale and two female patients. The mean age of patients was 55 years. The mean body mass index was 23.6 kg/m2. The largest diameter of the tumor ranged from 1.2 to 7.7 cm. The length of incision ranged from 3 to 6.5 cm (mean, 4.3 cm). The Octoport (Dalim, Seoul, Korea) was used in three cases, and a glove-port or SILS port was used in the other cases. After the whole abdominal exploration and localization of the tumor, the small bowel, including the tumor, was resected and end to end anastomosis was made extracorporeally. The mean operation time was 111.8 minutes. The mean length of hospital stay was 7.2 days. There was no occurrence of postoperative complication. Histologically, two tumors were diagnosed as gastrointestinal stromal tumors, and the other three patients were diagnosed as heterotopic pancreas, lipoma, and diffuse large B cell lymphoma, respectively. CONCLUSION: Single incision laparoscopic surgery is very useful for localization and resection of small bowel tumors. Compared to conventional laparoscopic surgery, it can reduce the number of trocars without increased difficulty. Small bowel tumor can be a suitable indication for single-incision laparoscopic surgery.