Indocyanine Green Use in the Minimally Invasive Gastrointestinal Surgery

Abstract

Indocyanine green (ICG) is a fluorescent dye that has been used in some medical specialties already for almost 60 years and has gained popularity in recent years due to the clinical applications recently proposed in the surgical field. This review article details the current use of the ICG in the minimally invasive gastrointestinal surgery. There is abundant evidence validating the usefulness of ICG fluorescence angiography in the gastrointestinal surgery, leading to a decrease of complications. Other uses, such as its lymphographic use for sentinel lymph node mapping or detection of metastatic lymph nodes, need further investigation to prove its benefit. The heterogeneity and subjective nature of the data remain the greatest challenge when analyzing the possible effects ICG can bring to the gastrointestinal surgery.