MEDICAL PROCEDURES
Laparoscopy
What is laparoscopy?
Laparoscopy is the use of a viewing tube called a laparoscope to see inside of the abdomen and pelvis. Laparoscopy can be performed for the diagnosis and surgical treatment of conditions within the belly. Through a very small incision in the abdominal cavity instruments can be inserted to perform the various steps in the procedure. The abdominal cavity is distended and made visible by the instillation of absorbable gas (typically, carbon dioxide). Most patients receive general anesthesia during the procedure.
Laparoscopy comes from two Greek words. The first is lapara, which means "the soft parts of the body between the rib margins and hips," or, more simply, the "flank or loin." The other Greek word is skopein, which means "to see or view or examine." Skopein has become -scope in English.
The technique of laparoscopy was developed in the beginning of the 20th century and found use mainly in Europe. The procedure has undergone rapid development in recent years, thanks to the efforts of both European and American surgeons and endoscopists. Laparoscopy has been used for years extensively by gynecologists for the diagnosis of diseases of the ovary and uterus.
What are advantages of laparoscopy?
The advantages of laparoscopy include a much shortened post-operative period and less post-operative pain. The avoidance of large abdominal incisions decreases some of the post-operative complications related to the heart and lungs. In addition, recent studies show decreased mortality with some laparoscopic procedures, such as cholecystectomy (removal of the gallbladder), as compared to the old open surgical procedures.
Laparoscopic surgery entered a new era in the late 1980s when removal of the gallbladder by laparoscopic techniques was developed, again by European surgeons. Fiberoptic instruments and video cameras have come to allow procedures on the smallest of structures.
Today, the use of laparoscopy has been extended to surgical procedures involving the appendix, colon, uterus, repair of hiatal hernias, and more. The procedure has come full circle from one of diagnosis to what is now known as "minimally invasive" surgery.
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