Laparoscopy in general surgery in Malta

Abstract

A first series of fifty non-acute laparoscopies in general surgical practice in Malta are presented with particular reference to the indications for the procedure and its diagnostic yield. The series includes the first case of Curtis Fitz-Hugh syndrome to be diagnosed laparoscopically in Malta and the use of laparoscopy for splenic smear preparation under direct vision in visceral leishmaniasis (Kala-azar), a method not described previously. The series had a 100%, diagnostic yield in cases of hepatomegaly and abdominal mass but only a 60% yield in cases of splenomegaly. There were one major and one minor complications both occurring in the same patient.