Hand-assisted Laparoscopic Splenectomy - Preliminary Experience in Southern Taiwan

Background: A hand-assisted laparoscopic procedure allows the surgeon to insert the nondominanthand into the abdomen, and helps to recover the tactile sensation.For a massively enlarged spleen, this technique overcomes difficulty in conventionallaparoscopic splenectomy. The advantages of minimally-invasivesurgery can still be preserved. We describe our preliminary experience inhand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy.Methods: The data of 5 patients who presented with splenomegaly and underwenthand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy between April 2000 and January2004 were reviewed retrospectively for analysis.Results: The mean age was 45.4