Single-Incision Laparoscopic Surgery in Diagnosis and Treatment for Gastrointestinal Bleeding of Obscure Origin in Children

In this multimedia manuscript with video presentation, we reported our experience of performing single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) on 3 children who presented with gastrointestinal bleeding from congenital small bowel lesions. Preoperative investigations including endoscopy and technetium scintigraphy were all negative in the 3 patients aged 4, 7, and 10 years, respectively. SILS was performed using reusable 3- and 5-mm ports and standard straight instruments. The small bowel lesions were located by SILS and the bowel segment with the pathology was exteriorized through the umbilical wound for extracorporeal resection. The diagnoses of the 3 children were Meckel's diverticulum, ileal duplication cyst, and multiple small bowel vascular malformations. All the 3 children recovered uneventfully from surgery without any complications and required minimal postoperative analgesia. Our experience suggested that SILS is an effective alternative to conventional laparoscopy in both diagnostic and therapeutic functions for children with gastrointestinal bleeding of obscure origin.