What Is Laparoscopy?

Laparoscopy, also known as diagnostic laparoscopy, is a surgical diagnostic procedure used to examine the organs inside the abdomen. It’s a low-risk, minimally invasive procedure that requires only small incisions. Laparoscopy uses an instrument called a laparoscope to look at the abdominal organs. A laparoscope is a long, thin tube with a high-intensity light and a high-resolution camera at the front. The instrument is inserted through an incision in the abdominal wall. As it moves along, the camera sends images to a video monitor. Laparoscopy allows your doctor to see inside your body in real-time, without open surgery. Your doctor also can obtain biopsy samples during this procedure.

Why Is Laparoscopy Performed?

Laparoscopy is often used to identify and diagnose the source of pelvic or abdominal pain. It’s usually performed when noninvasive methods are unable to help with diagnosis.  In many cases, abdominal problems can also be diagnosed with imaging techniques such as:

  • Ultrasound, which uses high-frequency sound waves to create images of the body.
  • CT scan, which is a series of special X-rays that take cross-sectional images of the body.
  • MRI scan, which uses magnets and radio waves to produce images of the body.

Laparoscopy is performed when these tests don’t provide enough information or insight for a diagnosis. The procedure may also be used to take a biopsy or sample of tissue from a particular organ in the abdomen. Your doctor may recommend a laparoscopy to examine the following organs:

  • Appendix.
  • Gallbladder.
  • Liver.
  • Pancreas.
  • Small intestine and large intestine (colon).
  • Spleen.
  • Stomach.
  • Pelvic or reproductive organs.

By observing these areas with a laparoscope, your doctor can detect:

  • An abdominal mass or tumour.
  • Fluid in the abdominal cavity.
  • Liver disease.
  • The effectiveness of certain treatments.
  • The degree to which a particular cancer has progressed.

What Are The Risks Of Laparoscopy?

The most common risks associated with laparoscopy are bleeding, infection and damage to organs in your abdomen. However, these are rare occurrences. After your procedure, it’s important to watch for any signs of infection. Contact your doctor if you experience:

  • Fevers or chills.
  • Abdominal pain that becomes more intense over time.
  • Redness, swelling, bleeding or drainage at the incision sites.
  • Continuous nausea or vomiting.
  • Persistent cough.
  • Shortness of breath.
  • Inability to urinate.
  • Lightheadedness.

There is a small risk of damage to the organs being examined during laparoscopy. Blood and other fluids may leak out into your body if an organ is punctured. In this case, you’ll need other surgery to repair the damage.

Less common risks include:

  • Complications from general anaesthesia.
  • Inflammation of the abdominal wall.
  • A blood clot, which could travel to your pelvis, legs, or lungs.

In some circumstances, your surgeon may believe the risk of diagnostic laparoscopy is too high to warrant the benefits of using a minimally invasive technique. This situation often occurs for those who’ve had prior abdominal surgeries, which increases the risk of forming adhesions between structures in the abdomen. Performing laparoscopy in the presence of adhesions will take much longer and increase the risk of injuring organs.

Results Of Laparoscopy

If a biopsy was taken, a pathologist will examine it. A pathologist is a doctor who specializes in tissue analysis. A report detailing the results will be sent to your doctor.  Normal results from laparoscopy indicate the absence of abdominal bleeding, hernias and intestinal blockages. They also mean that all your organs are healthy.  Abnormal results from laparoscopy indicate certain conditions, including:

  • Adhesions or surgical scars.
  • Hernias.
  • Appendicitis, an inflammation of the intestines.
  • Fibroids or abnormal growths in the uterus.
  • Cysts or tumours.
  • Cancer.
  • Cholecystitis, an inflammation of the gallbladder.
  • Endometriosis is a disorder in which the tissue that forms the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus.
  • Injury or trauma to a particular organ.
  • Pelvic inflammatory disease, an infection of the reproductive organ.

Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery

In some operations, the surgeon can put the camera and the surgical tool through the same opening in the skin. This means less scarring, but it’s trickier for the surgeon because the instruments are so close together.  In other cases, the surgeon may decide to use a device that lets them reach in with a hand. This is called “hand assisted” laparoscopy. The cut in the skin has to be longer than a half-inch, but it still can be smaller than in traditional surgery. This has made it possible to use laparoscopic surgery for the liver and other organs.

When A Robot Helps

Technology can help the medical team be precise. In the robotic version of laparoscopic surgery, the surgeon first cuts into the skin and inserts the camera, as usual. Instead of taking hold of the surgical instruments, they set up a robot’s mechanical arms. Then they move to a computer nearby. A lot of surgeons think robotic surgery is especially helpful for operating on people who weigh a lot, and for gynaecology and urology surgery. Most prostate removal operations use robots. With robotic surgery, the monitor gives the surgeon a 3-D, high-resolution, magnified image inside the body. As they watch the screen, they use hand controls to operate the robot and surgical instruments. This lets the surgeon be more exact, and it can mean less impact on your body and less bleeding. You may also have less discomfort after the operation.