Wertigkeit laparoskopischer untersuchungstechniken bei malignen erkrankungen

Surgical laparoscopy facilitates the comprehensive exploration of the abdominal cavity. thus augmenting the precision of pre-therapeutic tumor staging. The standardized procedure consists of visual inspection and surgical exploration of otherwise inaccessible sites. Further essential steps are laparoscopic sonography and the retrieval of samples for biopsy and cytology. In an own study comprising 111 patients with gastric cancer, a modification of pre-laparoscopic staging had to be made in 40,5% of cases. Data from the literature confirm this high relevance of diagnostic laparoscopy in gastric malignancies. Various studies indicate a similar importance of laparoscopy for the staging of esophageal, hepatobiliary and pancreatic lesions. Beyond of diagnostic aspects, laparoscopy also offers the chance of minimally invasive palliative treatment if curative therapy is not available any longer.