Laparoscopy has been utilized for many gynecological and surgical procedures that previously required laparotomy. Its use in the diagnosis and treatment of Meckel's diverticulum complicated by gastrointestinal bleeding is described.

Gastric schwannomas are rare peripheral nerve sheath tumors which are usually found incidentally while undergoing workup for other conditions. Despite their benign nature, they require surgical resection with negative margins. It is important to differentiate gastric schwannomas from gastrointestinal stromal tumors prior to surgical excision, as this can alter the recommended surgical plan. This can be achieved with endoscopic ultrasound and fine needle aspiration with analysis of the sampled tissue using immunohistochemical stains. We present the case of a 68-year-old female patient with an incidental finding of a gastric fundus schwannoma. Laparoscopic gastric wedge resection was performed with complete excision of the tumor and negative margins. Pathology was confirmed with immunohistochemical stains positive for S-100 and negative for CD117 and DOG1. Post-operative recovery was uneventful without tumor recurrence.

Background: port-site metastases (PSM) have been reported following oncological laparoscopic surgery. However, their frequency after laparoscopic examination in gastric cancer has not been well established.Material and methods: prospective follow-up of 41 patients having had a staging laparoscopy and a follow-up longer than 12 months. Mean age was 65 years (29-89). After staging, an open gastrectomy was performed in 33 cases. Mean follow-up was 21.4 (12-66) months. PSM was defined as a node in the former portsite wound with adenocarcinoma histology at biopsy.Results: no patient showed clinical signs of PSM or port-site recurrence, even in advanced stages. We had no morbidity or postoperative mortality attributable to laparoscopic manoeuvres, and no need for laparotomy in cases without a gastrectomy indication.Conclusions: our results suggest that staging laparoscopy is a safe procedure in gastric carcinoma, as it is not associated with PSM after even considerable follow-up, and has a very low complication rate.