Three-Dimensional Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy: Improved Patient Safety and Surgeon Convenience

One of the aims of laparoscopic surgery is to improve upon the results obtained by open surgery. This clearly appears to have been achieved in bariatric surgery. Two-dimensional (2-D) systems have been used to date, though new 3-dimensional (3-D) technologies have been introduced in an attempt to improve surgeon vision and thus increase the safety of the surgical techniques. Sixty obese patients underwent sleeve gastrectomy using a device equipped with 3-D optics allowing surgery to be viewed by the surgeon in 3 dimensions by using a specific monitor and wearing appropriate glasses. The mean patient age was 48.1 years. The mean weight was 114 kg (range, 92–172), with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 44 ± 5.21 kg/m2. All surgeries were performed using the 3-D system, with a mean surgical time of 71 ± 49.6 minutes and a mean hospital stay of 3.0 ± 1.2 days. Only 1 intraoperative complication was recorded: retroperitoneal bleeding on insertion of the optical trocar. Over a mean follow-up period of 12 months, ...