Current status of hand-assisted laparoscopic colorectal surgery: a review.

PURPOSE

Hand-assisted laparoscopic colorectal surgery has continued to develop since the mid-1990s. There have been a number of publications regarding its use and efficacy as a technique. We studied these reports to assess the current status of hand-assisted laparoscopic colorectal surgery.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We searched for articles on hand-assisted laparoscopic colorectal surgery archived in MEDLINE, PubMed, and the Cochrane database of systematic reviews.

RESULTS

We found a total of 36 papers. These included nine descriptive studies, three nonrandomized trials, and four randomized trials.

CONCLUSION

Most authors found hand-assisted laparoscopic colorectal surgery to be a very useful and promising technique. Suitable hand-insertion ports and laparoscopic instruments are crucial. Controlled trials demonstrate that the early benefits of the laparoscopic approach are realized and there may be a shorter learning curve.