Compliant Device for Abdominal Wall Lifting in Gasless Laparoscopy

Minimally invasive surgical procedures are commonly used to improve patient outcomes. Laparoscopic surgery and, to an increasing extent, natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) are often used for procedures performed in the peritoneal cavity. In order for such a procedure to take place, a workspace needs to be created to allow the surgeon room to operate. The status quo for accomplishing this workspace is by filling the cavity with a pressurized gas, usually carbon dioxide. This “insufflation” method of creating pneumoperitoneum has several problems. First, pressurized carbon dioxide causes several medical side effects. The gas pressure compresses the phrenic nerve, triggering referred pain to the shoulder, which can last 2 to 3 days post operation [1]. Insufflation can also cause hypercarbia as the easily absorbable carbon dioxide gas enters the tissue, leading to potentially severe complications [2]. Compression of the pleural cavity, obstruction of respiration, subcutaneous...