Complications of laparoscopic surgery

You should be familiar with complications of laparoscopic surgery for several good reasons: As a relatively new technique, it is prone to more complications, some of them new, different, and unexpected. The learning curve concept is now well known and frequently quoted-perhaps too much-as an easy excuse. But, the learning curve is real. Its length is different for different surgeons, and it does exist in open surgery as well. Moreover, complications occur to experienced surgeons long after their completion of the learning curve. Expecting a complication is the first step in preventing it. Timely recognition of a complication can be lifesaving. Intraoperative recognition may lead to conversion and prevention of more damage. Early postoperative recognition may lead to early reintervention, whether laparoscopic or open. When you perform a laparoscopic operation, more eyes can watch you closely (even the lady who scrubs the floor can watch the monitor through the glass door), and complications will be blamed on the technique, even when they are inherent to the procedure and can happen in open surgery as well (like anastomotic leaks).