Who should decide the best minimally invasive approach? Should we listen to our patients?

摘要

We read with special interest the article entitled Patient Preferences for New Techniques: Should We Invest in New Approaches? by Rao et al. [1] published online 19 May 2010. This definitely well-designed article with an interesting methodology tried to question people about minimally invasive surgery considering their different educational backgrounds. Nevertheless, we cannot help disagreeing with some important points stated by Rao et al.An important issue stated in this paper is the assumption that single-port surgery involves the same principles as those currently recognized widely as foundational to "regular laparoscopic surgery." As we stated in previous communications, single-port procedures are not regular laparoscopic surgery and therefore should be performed only by experienced laparoscopic surgeons with specific training in the animal lab before they are applied to human cases.