Mini-laparoscopic cholecystectomy with the MiniLap® percutaneous surgical system: a series of 32 patients

Konstantinos Sapalidis,1 Christoforos Kosmidis,1 Nikos Michalopoulos,1 Stylianni Laskou,1 Efstathios Pavlidis,1 Stelios Mantalovas,1 Dimitrios Giannakidis,1 Aikaterini Amaniti,1 Charilaos Koulouris,1 Athanasios Katsaounis,1 Alexandru C Munteanu,1 Valeriou Surlin,1 Paul Zarogoulidis,2 Isaak Kesisoglou1 1Third Department of Surgery, AHEPA Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; 2Pulmonary-Oncology Department, “Theageneio” Cancer Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece Background: In recent years, mini-laparoscopic procedures are gaining the preference of most surgeons due to their potentially better surgical outcomes. The Mini Lap Percutaneous Surgical System with MiniGrip® Handle is currently the less invasive instrument and can be applied to a wide range of operations. The current paper presents its application on percutaneous laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Materials and methods: From January 2017 to June 2017, 32 patients underwent percutaneous laparoscopic cholecystectomy with the MiniLap® system. All operations were performed by the same surgical team. Results: No conversions and no overall complications were reported. Drainage were not necessary. Mean surgical time was 35 minutes, while patients were released in <24 hours after the operation. Conclusion: The MiniLap system with the use of the mini grip handle seems to sustain the benefits of performing laparoscopically. However, further trials should be conducted so as to establish its safety on cholecystectomies. Keywords: cholecystectomy, minimally invasive surgery, MiniGrip handle, percutaneous cholecystectomy, mini-laparoscop

Design of a predictive score to assess the risk of developing hypocalcemia after total thyroidectomy. A retrospective study

Anastasios Papanastasiou,1 Konstantinos Sapalidis,1 Stylianos Mantalobas,1 Stefanos Atmatzidis,1 Nikolaos Michalopoulos,1 Valeriu Surlin,1 Athanasios Katsaounis,1 Aikaterini Amaniti,1 Paul Zarogoulidis,1 Ioannis Passos,1 Charilaos Koulouris,1 Efstathios Pavlidis,1 Dimitrios Giannakidis,1 Stelian Mogoanta,2 Christoforos Kosmidis,1 Isaak Kesisoglou113rd Department of Surgery, “AHEPA” University Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Medical School, Thessaloniki, Greece; 2Department of Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, Craiova, RomaniaBackground: Temporary hypocalcemia is the most common complication in patients after total thyroidectomy. To date, according to the literature, various predictors of the above complication have been proposed, but none of them seems to be effective enough.Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop a reliable predictive tool for biochemical hypocalcemia in the first 48 hrs after total thyroidectomy without central dissection by analyzing several parameters relevant to this operation and to suggest a new score.Methods: A retrospective study was performed on patients who had undergone total thyroidectomy without central neck dissection from October 2017 until January 2018. Data were collected from 36 patients and studied if there was a statistically significant relationship between the risk of hypocalcemia and 10 preselected prognostic factors.Results: The prognostic score was formed, which included the 6 factors that showed a statistically significant relationship. Moreover, an extensive check of the predictive value of the above score was performed. It was found, therefore, that at a value of 3 and above the sensitivity was 100%, the specificity 79.16%, the positive prognostic value (PPV) 70.58% and the negative predictive value (NPV) 100%.Conclusions: High sensitivity of CaReBe’S TiP score makes it feasible to predict patients with postoperative hypocalcemia. High NPV would allow surgeons to exclude patients with a score less than 3 from supplementary calcium medication and achieve a shorter hospitalization for them.Keywords: design, thyroidectomy, hypocalcemia, prognostic factor