Effects of Retroperitoneal or Transperitoneal Pneumoperitoneum on Inferior Vena Cava Hemodynamics and Cardiopulmonary Function: A Prospective Real-Time Comparison

Objective: To evaluate the effects of CO2 pneumoperitoneum on venous hemodynamics and cardiopulmonary function during transperitoneal or retroperitoneal laparoscopic surgery.Materials and Methods: A single-institution prospective study. Forty-three patients with renal-cell carcinoma undergoing retroperitoneal (22) or transperitoneal (21) laparoscopic partial nephrectomy were enrolled. Hemodynamic functions were monitored by minimally invasive FloTrac/Vigileo system. Transesophageal echocardiography was used to measure the diameter and blood flow of the inferior vena cava (IVC). Measured parameters were recorded at baseline, 10, 30, 60 minutes following insufflation to 14 mm Hg and 10 minutes following desufflation.Results: For hemodynamic changes in the transperitoneal laparoscopic surgery (TPL) and retroperitoneal laparoscopic surgery (RPL), transperitoneal CO2 insufflation resulted in a rapid parallel increase in central intravenous pressure (CVP), peak airway pressure (AWP), and IVC blood flow velocity after the first 30 minutes of pneumoperitoneum (p < 0.05). In contrast, CVP, AWP, and IVC blood flow velocity increased progressively in RPL. The variation of those parameters was significantly lower than that of TRL (p < 0.001; p = 0.002; p = 0.004). The mean maximum CVP in the two groups was 20 and 16 mm Hg, respectively. The IVC diameter at the cavoatrial junction was significantly reduced in TPL after 10 minutes of insufflation, but it remained unchanged in RPL throughout the surgery. For cardiopulmonary function changes, heart output decreased after a short period of pneumoperitoneum, but no statistical differences were observed between the two groups. The increments of partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide and end-tidal carbon dioxide tension were significantly higher in RPL than TPL (p < 0.001; p < 0.001).Conclusions: Compared with retroperitoneal pneumoperitoneum, transperitoneal pneumoperitoneum has significant effects on IVC hemodynamics. Elevated intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) causes higher AWP and venous return resistance, which lead to the significant increase of CVP during transperitoneal approach. Adjusting the balance between IAP and CVP might be an effective way to control intravenous bleeding.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the effects of CO2 pneumoperitoneum on venous hemodynamics and cardiopulmonary function during laparoscopic surgery. The results showed that transperitoneal CO2 insufflation led to a rapid increase in central venous pressure, peak airway pressure, and inferior vena cava blood flow velocity, while retroperitoneal CO2 insufflation resulted in a gradual increase. Additionally, transperitoneal CO2 insufflation caused a reduction in inferior vena cava diameter. There was a decrease in cardiac output after pneumoperitoneum, and the increase in arterial carbon dioxide and end-tidal carbon dioxide tension was higher in retroperitoneal surgery.