Perceived future of laparoscopic general surgery.

The rapid and widespread acceptance of laparoscopic cholecystectomy is without precedent in modern surgical history. Within a few years laparoscopic surgery has all but replaced traditional open laparotomy in the management of routine gallbladder disease. Recent reports of laparoscopically performed common-bile-duct exploration, appendectomy, truncal and selective vagotomy, Nissen fundoplication, colonic resection and other innovative procedures support the concept that, by the end of the decade, laparoscopic surgery will become one of the most common techniques used by general surgeons.