Minimally invasive needlescopic cholecystectomy.

We utilized a mini-sized grasper and retractor measuring 2.5 mm in diameter and a new mini-sized laparoscope measuring 3 mm in diameter to perform a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. A 10/12-mm trocar was inserted as the first trocar for the laparoscope and specimen extraction. Under a direct laparoscopic view, the mini-sized grasper and retractor were inserted and the laparoscopic procedures were performed mainly through the 5-mm trocar placed on the left upper quadrant as the working port. These procedures were successfully performed on five patients with a comparable operation time to that of a conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy, but appeared to be more minimally invasive.