Upcoming large studies may shed light on why this technique was not rapidly widely adopted like certain other laparoscopically assisted procedures
Laparoscopic “keyhole” surgery has been the gold standard for gall bladder surgery for a few decades. It has also been widely used for appendicectomies, a multitude of gynaecological procedures and, to various extents, for other procedures such as hernia repair, splenectomy and nephrectomy. However, the uptake of laparoscopically assisted resection in elective surgery for colorectal cancer (CRC) has been slow, both in Australia and overseas. This is the subject of the article by Thompson and colleagues in this issue of the Journal (→ National trends in the uptake of laparoscopic resection for colorectal cancer, 20002008).1
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