Review: intraoperative ultrasonography during minimal access surgery.

A total of 176 patients underwent intraoperative ultrasonography in the course of minimal access surgery using dedicated laparoscopic ultrasound probe. In 145 patients ultrasonography was used for screening of the biliary tract during laparoscopic cholecystectomy or laparoscopic cholecystectomy combined with common bile duct exploration. In 31 patients undergoing staging laparoscopy it was used for examination of the liver and staging of gastrointestinal malignancy. The outcome of the preliminary evaluation of this method allows the conclusion that ultrasonography during minimal access surgery has a huge potential to become a simple and reliable diagnostic tool in the future, supporting the surgeon in operative decision-making.