Restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA) is a curative operation for patients with mucosal ulcerative colitis that provides excellent quality of life. The operation has been performed in earnest since the 1980s, and reports of approaching the procedure with the laparoscopic technique were done in the early 1990s. Initially, there was no overwhelming support for the procedure as surgeons found significantly longer operating times and higher complication rates than in open operations. 1 But, as technology advanced and laparoscopic instrumentation improved with the advent of angled cameras, enhanced grasping instruments, and tissuesealing devices, the laparoscopic approach to IPAAs has been shown to be safe and effective. One must first define laparoscopic IPAA to really see where we have come over the last 20 years. There are several minimally invasive approaches to the procedure that have been described including the laparoscopically assisted approach, hand-assisted approach, single-incision approach, and robotically assisted approach. The most commonly performed procedures are the laparoscopically assisted or the hand-assisted approach. Port placement varies for the procedures, but a diamond approach with an umbilical port, leftand right-lower-quadrant ports, and a suprapubic port provides access to all quadrants of the abdomen for colonic mobilization and resection and facilitates laparoscopic mobilization of the rectum. Abdominal incisions to remove the specimen and format the pouch can be made either through the right-lower-quadrant stoma site, around the umbilicus, or through a Pfannenstiel incision. Safety and efficacy have been shown through several studies. Larson et al. published a comparison retrospective review of their experience comparing 100 laparoscopic IPAA patients to 200 IPAA patients. They found no difference in complication rates or short-term outcomes, but did see a significantly lower length of stay (4 vs. 7 days) with a significantly longer operative time (330 vs. 240 min) in the laparoscopic group. 2 Polle et al.
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