Rights Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License Minimally Invasive Autopsy – Multimodality to Post-Mortem Examinations

Running title: minimally invasive autopsy Background Autopsy examination has been the bedrock of western medicine. With the decline in the autopsy rate secondary to the negative psychological impact to the deceased’s relatives, the benefits of autopsy have been undermined. Minimally invasive autopsy has been introduced but has not been widely adopted as an alternative to the ‘traditional ’ open approach. This technique not only provides information on the cause of death abut also minimizes the disfigurement induced to the deceased. Our study aims to explore the feasibility and evaluate the accuracy of this technique. Methods A series of coroner cases ordered for autopsy were examined by a group including an experienced forensic pathologist and two experienced laparoscopic surgeons using thoracoscopic, laparoscopic, endoluminal or endovascular approaches. The procedure was video-recorded and the provisional diagnoses and causes of death were made based on the findings. These findings were subsequently correlated with the full autopsy examination. A few limited clinical post-mortem examinations were also performed with consent from relatives. Result