A New Minimally Invasive Method of Aortofemoral Revascularization

In recent years, minimal invasive surgical applications have been used in every field of surgery and became a routine application for some kinds of operations. Mini-laparotomy has been limited to abdominal incisions between 3 and 10 cm long. Four aortobifemoral and one aortofemoral bypass cases that were performed with mini-laparotomy incision between January 1997 and February 1998 are presented. In all cases, revascularization of lower extremities was performed successfully without enlarging the incision. The average operation time was shorter and the number of transfused blood units was significantly lower in that group when compared to the conventional laparotomy group of 12 cases. In all cases, bowel sounds appeared in 2 to 8 hours and at the end of 24 hours, oral nutrition was started. The mean discharge time from the hospital was 4.7 days. With the advantages of less operation time, optimal aortic exposure, ability in safe cross-clamping, less postoperative pain, less scar tissue occurrence, early resumption of intestinal functions, early mobilization and shorter hospitalization time, the mini-laparotomy technique is a safe reliable method for use in aortobifemoral bypass operations. © 2001, Sage Publications. All rights reserved