Diagnostic miniculdoscopy preceding laparoscopy when bowel adhesions are suspected.

Suspected bowel adhesions are often considered a relative contraindication to laparoscopy. To attempt preoperative diagnoses of intraabdominal adhesions, miniculdoscopy was performed on ten patients with a miniendoscope. It was possible to establish the presence or absence of adhesions and to determine a safe abdominal trocar insertion site. The laparoscope trocar could be inserted under direct controlled vision with the culdoscope in nine cases, suggesting that this procedure averts bowel adhesions. This technique may be a contribution to safer laparoscopy.