Effects of laparoscopy on mesenteric blood flow.

The increased intraperitoneal pressures that accompany laparoscopic examinations produce significant hemodynamic alterations. Studies of the effects of such pressures on mesenteric blood flow in laboratory animals with normal and compromised superior mesenteric artery blood flow lead us to conclude that laparoscopy in patients with suspected compromised intestinal blood flow should be undertaken with great caution. Since major alterations in blood flow did not occur at intraperitoneal pressures less than 20 mm Hg, intraperitoneal pressures during laparoscopy should be maintained below this level and for as brief a period of time as possible when this procedure is used in patients with suspected intestinal ischemia.