Single Port Laparoscopy

Single Port Laparoscopy, also known as "Single Port Surgery", "Single Incision Laparoscopy" or "Single Port Access," is the newest frontier in laparoscopic surgery. Laparoscopic surgery involves inflating the abdomen with an inert gas (CO2) and performing an operation seen through a thin camera tube along with several long thin instruments inserted through separate "ports" or trocars. Single Port Laparoscopy uses just one port buried in the belly button to accommodate both the instruments and the camera. This would eliminate the use of up to 4 to 5 separate trocars for the performance of typical laparoscopic procedures and would potentially leave the patient with no visible scars.

While this surgical approach in some fashion has probably been attempted earlier, the first documented procedures of significance occurred in the late '90s. [Esposito C. One-trocar appendectomy in pediatric surgery. Surg Endosc. 1998 Feb;12(2):177-8.] [Navarra G, Pozza E, Occhionorelli S, Carcoforo P, Donini I. One-wound laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Br J Surg. 1997 May; 84(5):695] [Piskun G, Rajpal S. Transumbilical laparoscopic cholecystectomy utilizes no incisions outside the umbilicus. J Laparoendosc Adv Surg Tech A 1999; 9:361-364] [Bresadola F., Pasetto A., et al Elective Transumbilical Compared with Standard Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy. European J of Surg. 1999 Feb; 165(1): 29-34(6)] This approach has recently seen more publicity and excitement as surgeons continue to develop techniques to evolve surgery to less invasive approaches.

So far, different versions of this technique have been used worldwide.

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