Minimally Invasive Surgery for Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura : Study of 28 cases

The purpose of this study is to report the experience and results of laparoscopic splenectomy for autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura in a general surgery department. This is a retrospective study obtained from a prospective database collection on laparoscopic splenectomy for Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) between January 2009 and June 2013. Twenty-eight patients underwent surgery. Fifty percent of patients had a platelet count of <50000/mm3. The mean operative time was 195 ± 68.3 minutes. The mean estimated blood loss was 127.8 ± 250 ml. The morbidity rate was 10.8% and the mortality rate in our series was 3.5%. Thus, laparoscopic splenectomy is a safe and feasible operative technique when performed by an expert hand.