Laparoscopic fenestration and modified marsupialization of posttraumatic splenic cysts using a harmonic scalpel

Abstract

In recent years, the advanced laparoscopic experience has revolutionized surgery and fostered the expansion of the indications for minimally invasive surgery in the diagnosis and treatment of all intra-abdominal pathology. Total splenectomy, which traditionally was the procedure of choice in the treatment of symptomatic nonparasitic splenic cysts, recently has been changed to a more conservative approach by many authors [1, 5, 9]. The conservative methods preserve immunologic function of the spleen and prevent the potentially fatal postsplenectomy sepsis complications [9]. We successfully performed laparoscopic fenestration and modified marsupialization of these cysts using a harmonic scalpel on two patients with symptomatic splenic psuedocysts.