Converted laparoscopic colorectal surgery . A meta-analysis

Conversion rates following laparoscopic colorectal surgery vary widely between studies, and the outcome of converted patients remains controversial. A comprehensive search of the English-language literature was updated until May 1999. Twenty-eight studies on 3232 patients were considered for analysis. The overall conversion rate was 15.38%. Seventy nine percent of the studies did not include a definition for conversion; in these studies, the conversion rate was significantly lower than in the series where a specific definition was considered (13.7% vs 18.9%, chi-square test, p