Experimental Laparoscopic Surgery: Potential Clinical Applications in Urology*

Abstract

Laparoscopic surgery as applied to urology has attracted limited interest from endourologists. In order to explore the feasibility of and gain the technical skills for performing laparoscopic procedures, we selected the female pig as the experimental model. All pigs underwent one or more procedures: translaparoscopic pelvic lymph node sampling, ureteral isolation and ligation, cystostomy and bladder repair, and laparoscopic monitoring of percutaneous cholecystostomy. Each pig underwent a second-look laparoscopic examination 2 to 4 weeks later. Minor complications occurred early in the investigation, but mastery came rapidly. Potential applications of laparoscopic surgery to clinical urology are discussed.