Benefits of antibiotic prophylaxis in laparoscopic gynaecological surgery

The prevention of infectious complications by antibiotic prophylaxis has made traditional or laparoscopic surgery much safer but at the same time has contributed to an uncontrolled and often irrational use of every kind of antibiotic. In this study we wanted to show that often mini-invasive surgery like laparoscopy can be practised without the use of antibiotics. Thus, postoperatively several patients undergoing laparoscopic, diagnostic and operative interventions were followed-up. The results showed that subjects without antibiotic therapy did not have any symptomatology that could be ascribed to bacterial infections. In conclusion this study has demonstrated that laparoscopic surgery, especially without any complications, should follow the elementary rules of surgical techniques and surgical asepsis and that antibiotic prophylaxis is not always necessary.