Meckel's diverticulum (MD) has various clinical presentations and due to the limitation of imaging studies, pre-operative diagnosis is a challenge in pediatric patients. Recently, laparoscopic exploration has been suggested as a favorable method for the diagnosis and treatment of complicated MD. We investigated the results of laparoscopic-assisted surgery compared with open technique. We retrospectively studied patients who underwent resection of complicated MD at our institute from 1997 to 2010 and compared 11 treated by laparoscopic-assisted diverticulectomy (LD) with 11 treated by open diverticulectomy (OD) for complicated MD. Operation time was not significantly different in the two groups. Hospital stay and time to diet were not significantly different. Two patients were re-admitted due to mechanical ileus in the LD group. None of patients in either group needed re-operation. Considering the possibility of false-positive results with imaging studies and the cosmetic benefit, laparoscopic-assisted surgery is a safe and effective treatment modality to diagnose and treat complicated Meckel's diverticulum.
