Expert advocates nonbladed obturator trocars. (Laparoscopic Surgery).

BIG SKY, MONT. -- Nonbladed obturator trocars are definitely the way to go in laparoscopic surgery, Dr. Eric J. Bieber said at an ob.gyn. update sponsored by the Geisinger Health System.

"I often now use nonbladed obturator trocars. If you hit a viscous structure while you're trying to get in, you're not likely to get an injury. They have assisted me in performing surgery in a number of high-risk patients," Dr. Bieber, chairman of ob.gyn. at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa., told this newspaper.

He uses them even for his ancillary trocars. "You'd be surprised how many injuries are caused by ancillary trocars. Even with the best hands on the best days, you're eventually going to have an injury during laparoscopic surgery, so you're going to want to have everything in your favor," he said.

Dr. Bieber first learned the value of nonbladed obturator trocars not from a fellow ob.gyn., but from a bariatric surgeon ...