OBJECTIVE To evaluate the outcomes of patients undergoing laparoscopic splenectomy (LS) at a single institution. METHODS Case control. METHODS University teaching hospital. METHODS The medical records of the initial 25 consecutive patients who underwent LS at a single institution were reviewed. For comparison, a control group of 25 patients undergoing open splenectomy (OS) matched for age, diagnosis, and splenic weight were also reviewed. METHODS Data regarding operative time, blood loss, pathologic findings, complications, postoperative hospital stay, ileus duration, preoperative and postoperative hematocrit and platelet counts, blood and platelet transfusions, and hospital costs were collected. RESULTS Twenty-five patients underwent attempted LS. Four procedures (16%) were converted to OS. Operative time averaged 3.3 +/- 0.2 hours for LS and 2.6 +/- 0.1 hours for OS (P = .001). In the LS group, a regular diet was tolerated 2.1 +/- 0.3 days after surgery (P < .001), and mean postoperative hospital stay was 5.1 +/- 0.6 days (P = .037), compared with 4.3 +/- 0.3 and 6.7 +/- 0.5 days, respectively, in the OS group. No differences were observed in blood loss, complication rate, transfusion requirement, or hospital cost. CONCLUSIONS Compared with OS, LS requires more operative time, is comparable in blood loss, transfusion requirement, complication rate, and cost, and appears to be superior in terms of return of bowel function and hospital stay.