Laparoscopic surgery in colonic cancer

Abstract

The first laparoscopic colectomy was performed almost 30 years ago, its expansion has been slow and it did not have the explosive development that laparoscopic cholecystectomy and appendectomy had, despite sharing its benefits such as lower pain, hospital stay and early recovery. This is explained, in part, by the initial fear of implants at trocar sites and the lack of oncological safety. Randomized clinical trials confirmed the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic surgery with short-term and oncological results, comparable to open surgery. The slow learning curve, given by technical complexity, has encouraged learning supervised by an expert coach in the context of subspecialty training programs.

Our aim is to review the short-term and oncological results, some general considerations and future perspectives.