Echolaparoscopy: an indispensable procedure for laparoscopic surgery.

The widespread use of operative and diagnostic laparoscopy leads to growing use of laparoscopic ultrasound as a complementary procedure. A preliminary study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of laparoscopic ultrasound using a linear array laparoscopic probe characterised by double frequency, mechanical flexibility and availability of Doppler analysis. Twenty-five cases of cholecystolithiasis were evaluated during laparoscopic cholecystectomy in comparison with laparoscopic cholangiography: no differences were observed. Nine cases of gastrointestinal neoplasms (gastric, colon, pancreatic, and liver cancer) were evaluated in comparison with preoperative sonography and computed tomography. Laparoscopic sonography improves abdominal malignancy detection (cancer spread, lymph node metastasis, liver metastasis), thus modifying therapeutic decisions. The possibility of moving the probe in flexion extension movements allows a complete, multiplane exploration of operative fields. Laparoscopic sonography represents a complementary, indispensable diagnostic method during laparoscopic surgery.