A Novel Liver Retractor for Upper Abdominal Laparoscopic Surgery

Hiroshi Kawahira, MD PhD, Hideki Hayashi, MD PhD, Toshiyuki Natsume, MD PhD, Takashi Akai, MD PhD, Yoshihiro Nabeya, MD PhD, Kazufumi Suzuki, MD PhD, Mikito Mori, MD PhD, Daisuke Horibe, MD PhD, Hisahiro Matsubara, MD PhD. Research Center for Frontier Medical Engineering, Chiba University

(1) Objective of this studyLaparoscopic assisted gastrectomy (LAG) has been accepted procedure for early stages of gastric cancer and bariatric surgery or metabolic surgery has been also performed in Japan. For the easier and safer procedure, we invented a new liver retractor for the upper gastric area. (2) DetailsOur novel liver retractor is composed of a metallic, flexible stick part (retractor) attached to an operating table and an air compressor. The flexible liver retractor moves and fixes manually by compressed air. (3) ResultsWe used our retractor for the upper abdominal laparoscopic surgery of swine and human. The surgical views were efficient and effective for the open and laparoscopic surgery. The excellent point was to move in exactly during surgery. (4) Conclusion and Future planOur retractor shows effective surgical view. We will use this retractor for the lower abdominal and pelvic area.