Pain-free liver retraction: A simple technical innovation

Aim: To present an innovative pain –free liver retraction. Introduction: Retraction of the left lobe of the liver is a vital step in most of the upper gastrointestinal laparoscopic surgeries. For these procedures, a subxiphoid port, 5 or 10 mm, is used to insert a liver retractor to keep the left lobe of the liver out of the operative field. We describe a simple, but effective and economical alternative technique, using the core shaft of the dismantlable laparoscopic hand instruments. Patients and methods: Over a 3-month period, all upper gastrointestinal laparoscopic surgeries, were done with the liver retraction performed with the core shaft of the dismantlable laparoscopic instrument. There were 41 surgeries in all, which were mainly bariatric surgeries, antireflux surgeries, and Heller's myotomy. The endpoint of the study was to evaluate how useful this modified liver retraction was as a technique, and failure of the retractor was defined as a need to convert into a 5-mm fan liver retractor. Results: Of the 41 patients operated in a 3-month period, only in two cases, both undergoing RYGB, who had enlarged fatty liver, a 5-mm metallic fan retractor was found to be necessary to complete the proposed surgery, with a conversion ratio of 4.9%. Conclusion: The two mm 'insert', the shaft of the dismantlable laparoscopic hand instruments is a safe and effective option for liver retraction in most of the upper GI laparoscopic surgeries.