Two-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy with modified suture retraction of the fundus: A practical approach

CONTEXT: Although transumbilical single incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (SILC) has been demonstrated to be superior cosmetic, it is only limited to simple cases at present. In complex cases, the standard four- or three-port LC is still the treatment of choice. AIM: To summarize the clinical effect of a modified technique in two-port LC. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A consecutive series of patients with benign gallbladder diseases admitted to the provincial teaching hospital who underwent LC in the past 4 years were included. A modified two-port LC was the first choice except for those requiring laparoscopic common bile duct exploration (LCBDE). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The operation was done with suture retraction of the fundus by a needle-like retractor. The patients' data, including the operative time, time consumed by gallbladder retraction, operative bleeding, conversion rate, rate of adding trocars, and postoperative complications were recorded. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data were expressed as percentage and mean with standard deviation. RESULTS: Total 107 patients with chronic calculous cholecystitis (N = 61), acute calculous cholecystitis (N = 43), and cholecystic polyps (N = 3) received two-port LC. The procedure was successful in 99 out of 107 cases (success rate, 92.5%), and a third trocar was added in the remaining 8 cases (7.5%) due to severe pathological changes. The operative time was 47.2 (±13.21) min. There was no conversion to open surgery. CONCLUSION: Two-port LC using a needle-like retractor for suture retraction of the gallbladder fundus is a practical approach when considering the safety, convenience, and indications as well as relatively minimal invasion.