Introduction:
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has become the gold standard in treating patients presenting cholecystitis. Standard laparoscopic cholecystectomy involves access to the abdominal cavity through two or three incisions outside the umbilicus, which are potential infection sites and may determine poor cosmetic outcomes. In order to eliminate the aforementioned disadvantages of ‘‘traditional’’ laparoscopic surgery methods, several modifications have been recently introduced, which are significantly less invasive. Effort is being made to reduce the amount of trocars accessing the abdominal cavity via the abdominal wall, or to eliminate them completely.

Aim:
The aim of the work was to describe a modification of traditional laparoscopic cholecystectomy, which consists of reducing the amount of integumental incisions.

Material and methods:
From October 2009 through July 2011, 21 patients were operated on using laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the general surgery department in Kędzierzyn-Koźle District Hospital. Our control group consisted of 25 patients, operated on schedule between March and July 2011 in the same hospital.

Results and discussion:
Postoperative course was uneventful. Aesthetic results were regarded as ‘‘very good’’ by both patients and surgeons. One advantage of the described method is the possibility to convert to ‘‘traditional’’ laparoscopic cholecystectomy at any point during the operation.

Conclusions:
Described method is a safe and efficient alternative for standard laparoscopic cholecystectomy and may be introduced virtually in every surgery department operating by means of laparoscopic techniques.