A simple technique for removal of the gallbladder during microlaparoscopic cholecystectomy.

With the advent of mini-instruments, laparoscopic cholecystectomies have been performed with two or three trocars instead of the standard four ports. However, removal of the gallbladder is a difficult aspect with these microlaparoscopic techniques. To remove the gallbladder through the 11-mm umbilical port, a 5-mm telescope should be used. However this telescope is not always available. Other techniques are suitable only for patients with limited or no inflammation of the gallbladder. An efficient, simple, and inexpensive technique is described that allows removal of the gallbladder through an 11-mm trocar without the need for a 5-mm telescope. It permits removal of the specimen in acute suppurative or thick-wall cholecystitis independently of the technique used.