This publication of the papers presented at the Workshop on Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery that took place on 27-29 November 1995 in the European Surgical Institute in Norderstedt, Germany, is effectively a snapshot of the current state of knowledge in both the theory and the practice of minimally invasive colon surgery. This snapshot is a mosaic made up of the varied ex periences of individual surgeons. After a long period in which nothing much seemed to be happening, the recent growth in the use of minimally invasive surgery or video-controlled operative procedures in surgery of the abdominal and chest cavities has been unparalleled. More difficult operations have become increasingly possible as more and more new techniques have become available. Cholecystectomy should be regarded as the pacesetter for video-controlled procedures. Under defined conditions, it has now become the standard operation. Other operative procedures such as appendicectomy, hernior rhaphy, overs ewing of a perforated gastric or duodenal ulcer, vagotomy and fundoplication, operations on the spleen or adrenal, staging operations., and thoracic surgical procedures are becoming increasingly widely performed. Minimally invasive operations on the small and large bowel are currently still at the stage of individual reports.

I Standards

Surgical Treatment of Chronic Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Therapeutic Strategy in Sigmoid Diverticulitis: A Survey of German Surgical Departments
Changing Standards in Our Practice of Rectal Cancer Surgery
Standards in the Treatment of Colorectal Carcinoma: A German View
Surgical Principles in the Treatment of Colorectal Cancer: A French View
II Indications
Laparoscopic Sigmoid Resection in Diverticulitis
Indications for Laparoscopic Sigmoid Resection in Diverticulitis
Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery: Indications and Design of a Multicentre Study
Laparoscopic Surgery in Crohn's Disease
Extracorporeal Resection of the Rectum in the Treatment of Prolapse Using the Stapler
Rectal Prolapse: Rectopexy or Resection?
Laparoscopic Surgery for Cancer of the Colon: A Pragmatic Approach
Laparoscopic Operations in Colorectal Cancer
Laparoscopic Resection of the Colon: Indications, Patient Selection, Results to Date
Surgery for Rectal Cancer: Is It a Laparoscopic Procedure?
Complications in Minimally Invasive Colon Surgery
III Principles
General Principles of Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery
Anesthetic and Monitoring Considerations in Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Colectomy
Assessment of Operative Difficulty and Postoperative Recovery in Laparoscopic Surgery of the Colon
Cytological Examinations After Intraoperative Lavage in Colon Carcinoma Patients Undergoing Conventional and Laparoscopic Surgery
Complexity of Laparoscopic Colon Procedures and Program Development
IV Laparoscopic Surgical Techniques
Laparoscopic Surgery of the Colon: Our Experience of 142 Cases
Reconstruction After Low Auterior
Laparoscopic Abdominoperineal Excision of the Rectum
Laparoscopic Rectopexy
Laparoscopic Intracorporeal End-to-EndColonic Anastomosis by Means of Individually Placed Staples
Ultrasonography of Adhesions Prior to Laparoscopic Procedures After Previous Abdominal Operations
V Results: Morbidity, Mortality, Long-Term Results
Our Experience with Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery
Laparoscopic Rectosigmoid Resection for Carcinoma
Laparoscopically Assisted Colorectal Surgery: A Review of 87 Cases
Accelerated Recovery After Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery for Cancer in Old Patients
Laparoscopic Colectomy: Experience and Outcomes at the Minimally Invasive Surgical Training Institute in Baltimore
The Need for Clinical Trials and Randomized Studies to Assess Laparoscopic Colectomy
VI Advantages of the Laparoscopic Approach
Laparoscopic Surgery for Carcinoma of the Colon: Does It Come Up to Standard?
Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery as Routine in a Community Hospital: Tactics and Results
Open versus Laparoscopic Surgery in Colorectal Surgery: Results
Laparoscopic Diagnosis, Staging and Follow-up of Colorectal Malignancies
VII Summary of Discussioü and Opinion Poll.