Description

Laparoscopy is currently the gold standard for the vast majority of abdominal surgeries, and especially for colectomy for cancer or benign diseases. There are many data showing the benefits of the laparoscopic approach to colectomy in terms of morbidity, post-operative pain and analgesic consumption, length of hospital stay, cosmetic results, and improved patient satisfaction. In 2002, consensus European guidelines recommended insufflating at the lowest pressure that still provides sufficient exposure. Considering these results, low-pressure laparoscopy is one of the alternatives that have been developed to do away with the complications of the pneumoperitoneum while retaining its advantages.

However, other factors may influence the outcomes of the low-pressure pneumoperitoneum such as the use of humidification and warming gaz, robotic or microsurgical instrumentation, neuromuscular blockade, patient positioning, pre-stretching of the abdominal wall, ventilation-induced changes, and probably individual patient factors like obesity. These parameters could not be separately tested in randomized trial. We should consider all these parameters in a prospective international registry in order to optimize the benefit of low-pressure pneumoperitoneum in post-operative recovery.