| Published: | June 2008 - Diseases of the Colon & Rectum |
| Excerpt: | “In this prospective, randomized study, hand-assisted laparoscopic colorectal surgery resulted in significantly shorter operative times while maintaining similar clinical outcomes as straight laparoscopic techniques for patients undergoing left-sided colectomy and total abdominal colectomy. There were no apparent differences in the time to return of bowel function, tolerance of diet, length of stay, postoperative pain scores, or narcotic usage between the hand-assisted laparoscopic and straight laparoscopic groups. A hand-assisted laparoscopic approach may be considered another tool in the surgeon’s armamentarium of minimally invasive techniques for the treatment of colorectal diseases.” |
| Published: | November 2022 - International Journal of Colorectal Disease |
| Excerpt: | “A total of 47 studies were found fitting the inclusion criteria, with 5 RCTs [randomized controlled trials], 41 cohort studies and 1 case series. Hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery was associated with lower conversion rates, shorter operative times and higher BMI … Length of stay was not different in HALS as compared to lap[aroscopy], and intraoperative complications were the same between both techniques.” |
| Published: | April 2008 - Surgical Endoscopy |
| Excerpt: | “This systematic review indicates that HALS provides a more efficient segmental colectomy regarding operating time and conversion rate, particularly accounting for diverticulitis. A significant operating time advantage exists for HALS total (procto)colectomy. HALS must therefore be considered a valuable addition to the laparoscopic armamentarium to avoid conversion and speed up complicated colectomies.” |
| Published: | September 2011 - Diseases of the Colon and Rectum |
| Excerpt: | “Hand-assisted laparoscopic colorectal resection can be performed for numerous indications. It preserves nearly all the benefits of laparoscopic colectomy reported in the literature. With experience, it is associated with significantly reduced operative times. Wider adoption of hand-assisted laparoscopic colorectal surgery would increase the number of patients benefiting from minimal access colorectal surgery.” |
| Published: | December 2007 - Journal Surgical American College of Surgeons |
| Excerpt: | “For complex colectomies, HALS substantially reduced operative time and conversion rate, with the same complication rate. HALS increased the number of MACs [minimal access colectomies] performed. More notably, HALS was used preferentially for complex colectomies. HALS effectively bridges the complexity divide between minimal access and open procedures. HALS may serve as a technology to expand MAC.” |
| Published: | 2006 December - Hong Kong Medical Journal |
| Excerpt: | "As the feasibility, safety and adequacy of resection are guaranteed, and the long-term outcomes appear similar to those of open surgery, laparoscopic liver resection can be attempted whenever the necessary expertise is available. However, careful case selection is nevertheless very important. " |
| Published: | July 2011 - Journal of Endourology |
| Excerpt: | "Conclusion: We report the largest meta-analysis of HALS renal surgery to date. When compared with open surgery, HALS allows for a significant decrease in EBL [estimated blood loss] and LOS [length of stay]. Compared with laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, HALS resulted in a significant decrease in blood loss, OR time, and WIT [warm ischemia time]." |
| Published: | June 2011 - Journal of Urology |
| Excerpt: | "Our results have shown that hand assistance provides a safe, minimally invasive laparoscopic procedure. Our complications rates were comparable to those with other standard and hand-assist series, although the spectrum of complications varied. Hand-assisted laparoscopic renal surgery could be a method by which to improve patient access to minimally invasive nephron-sparing surgery." |
| Published: | 2011 February - Journal of Endourology |
| Excerpt: | "Laparoscopic radical nephrectomy is the standard of care for the management of most renal cancers. The hand-assisted approach has bridged the gap between open nephrectomy and a pure laparoscopic approach. Hand-assisted laparoscopic nephrectomy allows tactile feedback, thus shortening the learning curve for some surgeons and allowing more experienced laparoscopists to perform more complex and challenging procedures." |
| Published: | 2010 January - Transplant International |
| Excerpt: | "By multiple regression analysis, minimally invasive hand-assisted technique was shown to be associated with a significantly lower risk of major complications and intraoperative incidents, as well as reduced warm ischemia and operative time. In our opinion, the introduction of hand-assisted technique is probably the most significantly single factor for improved results, although accumulated experience and developments in equipment will contribute. Our experience indicates that learning curves are facilitated by the use of hand-assisted technique." |
| Published: | 2004 September - Journal of Endourology / Endourology Society |
| Excerpt: | "The HAL procedure relies heavily on devices that allow the hand to be introduced into the laparoscopic environment. The GelPort, when evaluated in a porcine model by training laparoscopic urologists, appears to be significantly better than other devices available to date. Further testing with larger cohorts and human clinical trials are required to confirm these findings." |
| Published: | 2002 March - Surgical Endoscopy |
| Excerpt: | "In conclusion, hand assisted laparoscopic nephrectomy in living donor kidney transplantation can be recommended as a technique that increases the confidence of the operating surgeon and the safety margin of the procedure. In addition to its shorter operating time and warm ischemia time, HALS offers particular advantages during trocar placement for the prevention of torsion of the kidney and control of potential bleedings, and in the final hazardous stages of vascular stapling and kidney removal." |
| Published: | April 2011 - Canadian Journal of Surgery |
| Excerpt: |
"We believe that HALS has many technical advantages over the purely laparoscopic technique when dealing with a massive spleen. Compared with standard laparoscopic instruments, the hand allows for greater atraumatic exposure of the spleen. The hand also allows for easy tamponade of any bleeding that may be encountered during dissection, which is often a reason for conversion to open splenectomy and excessive blood loss. The hand eases the technically challenging manipulation of the spleen into a retrieval bag. The hand port also adds little incisional morbidity, as a larger utility port is often required for spleen removal in laparoscopic splenectomy. Conclusion: "When compared with open splenectomy, HALS resulted in a significantly reduced length of stay in hospital. It is a valuable technique to have in the surgeon's armamentarium when treating patients with splenomegaly." |
| Published: | June 2006 - World Journal of Surgery |
| Excerpt: | "Hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy is a safe and effective technique for the management of spleens larger than 20 cm. The technique results in shorter hospital stays, and it is a good alternative to open splenectomy when treating patients with massive splenomegaly." |
