Trocar in conventional laparoscopic and robotic-assisted surgery as a major cause of iatrogenic trauma to the patient

Abstract

All laparoscopic procedures, laparoscopic or robotic-assisted, start with a trocar entry. Unfortunately unknown to most, this is an extremely important part of the surgery, as 80% of major vascular injuries and 50% of intestinal injuries occur during this procedure. Laparoscopic first entry is often delegated to trainees with little experience, wrongly assuming that laparoscopic entry is similar to incisional entry at laparotomy. This may result in patient death (mortality of major vascular injuries is 11% and unrecognized intestinal injuries is 5%) or significant temporary or permanent morbidity.